WIFE    No.    19, 


OR 

THE    STORY    OF 


A  LIFE  IN  BONDAGE, 


BEING    A 


Complete  Expos6  of  Mormonism, 


AND   REVEALING  THE 


SORROWS,     SACRIFICES    AND     SUFFERINGS    OF 
WOMEN    IN    POLYGAMY, 


BY 


ANN    ELIZA    )TOUNG, 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG'S  APOSTATE  WIFE. 

WITH   INTRODUCTORY   NOTES   BY 

JOHN.B.  GOUGH  AND  MARY  A.  LIVERMORE. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


SOLD      BY      SUBSCRIPTION      ONLY. 


DUSTIN,  OILMAN  &  CO. 
PUBLICATION    OFFICE:    HARTFORD,    CONN, 

BRANCH    OFFICES:   CHICAGO,   ILL.,   CINCINNATI,   OHIO. 

1  876. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1875, 

BY  DUSTIN,  OILMAN  &  CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


TO  THE 


MORMON  WIVES  OF  UTAH. 


I  Dedicate  this  Book  to  you,  as  I  consecrate  my  life  to  your  cause. 

As  long  as  God  gives  me  life  I  shall  pray  and  plead  for  your  deliver- 
ance from  the  worse  than  Egyptian  bondage  in  which  you  are  held. 

Despised,  maligned,  and  wronged;  kept  in  gross  ignorance  of  the 
great  world,  its  pure  creeds,  its  high  aims,  its  generous  motives,  you 
have  been  made  to  believe  that  the  noblest  nation  of  the  earth  was  truly 
represented  by  the  horde  of  miscreants  who  drove  you  from  State  to  State, 
in  early  years,  murdering  your  sons  and  assassinating  your  leaders. 

Hence,  you  shrink  from  those  whom  God  will  soon  lead  to  your 
deliverance,  from  those  to  whom  I  daily  present  your  claims  to  a 
hearing  and  liberation,  and  who  listen  with  responsive  and  sympathetic 
hearts. 

But  He  will  not  long  permit  you  to  be  so  wickedly  deceived;  nor 
will  the  People  permit  you  to  be  so  cruelly  enslaved. 

Hope  and  pray  !  Come  out  of  the  house  of  bondage  !  Kind  hearts 
beat  for  you !  Open  hands  will  welcome  you !  Do  not  fear  that  while 
God  lives  you  shall  suffer  uncared  for  in  the  wilderness  !  This  Christian 
realm  is  not  "  Babylon,"  but  THE  PROMISED  LAND  ! 

Courage !  The  night  of  oppression  is  nearly  ended,  and  the  sun 
of  liberty  is  rising  in  the  heavens  for  you. 

ANN-ELIZA  YOUNG. 


510196 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE, 

BY 

JOHN  B.    GOUGH. 


SINCE  Mrs.  Young's  pleasant  visit  to  us,  I  have  thought 
much  of  the  important  mission  to  which  she  has  devoted 
herself,  and  I  wish  to  say,  and  I  do  it  most  cordially,  that 
having  been  reared  and  educated  in  Mormonism,  from  her 
experience  and  the  sufferings  she  has  endured,  she  is  fully 
competent  to  expose  the  whole  system,  and  show  to  the 
public  the  true  side  of  it,  as  no  other  person  can  or  will.  I 
need  not  assure  her  of  my  entire  confidence  in  her  sincerity 
and  ability  to  carry  out  the  work  to  which  she  has  devoted 
herself,  and  the  talents  God  has  given  her.  I  believe  she 
has  been  called  to  this  mission,  and  by  her  experience  and 
intense  sympathy  with  the  sufferings  of  her  sex,  has  been 
wonderfully  qualified,  and  prepared  for  the  work. 

The  sympathy  of  our  entire  household  is  with  her,  and 
we  earnestly  pray  that  she  may  be  enabled  to  overcome  all 
opposition,  and  that  God  may  give  her  abundant  success, 
and  that  the  blessing  of  many  ready  to  perish  may  rest 
upon  her. 

'JOHN  B.  GOUGH. 
WORCESTER,  MASS.,  July,  1875. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE, 


BY 


MRS.   MARY  A.   LIVERMORE. 


I  HAVE  read  the  advance  sheets  of  Mrs.  Ann-Eliza 
Young's  book  with  painful  interest,  which  has  deepened 
into  disgust  and  pity.  Disgust  at  the  hypocrisy,  brutality, 
and  diabolism  of  the  Mormon  leaders ;  pity  for  the 
wasted,  joyless,  sacrificial  lives  of  the  poor  women  who 
immolate  themselves  on  the  shrine  of  Mormonism,  in  the 
holy  name  of  Religion. 

Born  and  reared  in  the  midst  of  these  deluded  people, 
removed  from  all  counteracting  influences,  it  was  inevitable 
that  Mrs.  Young  should  accept  their  beliefs,  and  be  drawn 
into  their  practices.  And  it  must  have  required  heroic  res- 
olution in  her  to  break  away  from  the  Mormon  Church, 
even  when  her  vision  was  unsealed  to  its  rottenness,  know- 
ing as  she  did  that  she  would  be  compelled  to  flee  from 
home,  leaving  a  beloved  mother  and  precious  children  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  I  congratulate  her  on  her  com- 
plete emancipation,  on  her  reunion  with  her  beloved, 
whose  obvious  peril  weighed  so  heavily  on  her  filial  and 
maternal  heart,  and  on  the  possession  of  ability  to  give  to 
the  world  an  expos6  of  the  Mormon  horror,  such  as  it  has 


IO  INTRODUCTORY   NOTE. 

never  before  received.  My  sympathies  are  entirely  with 
her  in  the  work  to  which  she  has  consecrated  herself. 
With  her  awakened  conscience,  she  could  not  do  other- 
wise than  seek  the  disintegration  of  the  Utah  community, 
whose  foundations  are  laid  in  the  degradation  of  woman. 
May  she  have  the  largest  success  compatible  with  human 
effort. 

MARY  A.  LIVERMORE. 
MELROSE,  MASS.,  Oct.  1875. 


TO  THE  WIVES  OF  BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 


SHOULD  this  book  meet  your  eyes,  I  wish  you  most  distinctly  to 
understand  that  my  quarrel  is  not  with  you.  On  the  contrary,  the 
warmest  and  tenderest  feelings  of  my  heart  are  strongly  enlisted  in 
your  favor.  As  a  rule,  you  have  been  uniformly  kind  to  me. 
Some  of  you  I  have  dearly  loved.  I  have  respected  and  honored 
you  all.  My  love  and  respect  have  never  failed,  but  have  rather 
increased  with  separation.  I  think  of  you  often  with  the  sincerest 
sympathy  for  your  helpless  condition,  bound  to  a  false  religion, 
and  fettered  by  a  despotic  system ;  and  I  wish  from  the  depths  of 
my  heart  that  I  could  bring  you,  body  and  soul,  out  from  the  cruel 
bondage,  and  help  you  to  find  the  freedom,  rest,  and  peace  which 
have  become  so  sweet  to  me  since  my  eyes  have  been  opened  to 
the  light  of  a  true  and  comforting  faith. 

Since  I  have  left  Utah,  I  know  that  some  of  you  have  censured 
me  severely,  and  have  joined  in  personal  denunciations.  But  I 
know  that  you  are  actuated  by  a  mistaken  zeal  for  the  cause  which 
you  feel  yourselves  bound  to  sustain.  You,  no  doubt,  regard  my 
course  with  horror.  I  look  upon  your  lives  with  pity. 

I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  describing  your  characters  and  situ- 
ations. I  was  not  prompted  by  the  slightest  animosity  toward 
you,  but  because  the  public  are  interested  in  you,  and  curious  con- 
cerning you,  and  I  felt  that  I  could  give  to  the  world  a  true  story 
of  your  lives,  and,  at  the  same  time,  do  you  justice,  and  let  you  be 
seen  as  you  are  in  my  eyes,  which  are  not  dimmed  by  prejudice. 


12         TO  THE  WIVES  OF  BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 

I  was  driven  to  the  course  I  am  pursuing  by  sheer  desperation, 
as  some  of  you,  with  whom  I  have  exchanged  confidences,  well 
know.  The  motives  which  have  been  attributed  to  me,  and  the 
charges  that  have  been  made  against  me,  are  as  utterly  false  and 
foreign  to  my  nature  as  darkness  is  to  light.  You,  at  least,  should 
not  misjudge  me.  You  should  know  me  better,  and  you  do. 
Even  your  bitter  prejudice,  and  your  disapprobation  of  the  step  I 
have  taken,  cannot  make  you  believe  me  other  than  I  am.  You 
know  that  apostasy  from  Mormonism  does  not  necessarily  degrade 
a  person,  and  sink  them  at  once  to  the  lowest  depths  of  infamy. 

If,  as  is  taught,  —  and  as  I  suppose  you  believe,  —  I  have  lost  the 
light  of  the  gospel,  and  departed  from  "  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints,"  am  I  not  rather  deserving  your  compassion  than 
your  censure?  Your  own  hearts  and  consciences  must  answer 
that. 

The  women  of  Utah  should  know  that  I  shall  vindicate  their 
rights,  and  defend  their  characters,  at  all  times  and  in  all  places. 
Their  sorrow  has  been  my  sorrow ;  their  cause  is  my  cause  still. 
My  heart  goes  out  to  them  all,  but  more  especially  to  yon.  You 
have  been  my  companions  and  my  sisters  in  tribulation.  Now 
our  paths  diverge.  I  go  on  the  way  that  I  have  chosen  alone, 
while  you  stay  sorrowing  together.  I  wish  I  had  the  power  to 
influence  you  to  throw  off  the  fetters  which  bind  you,  and  to  walk 
triumphantly  forth  into  the  glories  of  a  faith,  whose  foundation  is 
in  God  the  compassionate  Father,  whose  principles  are  those  of  a 
tender  mercy,  whose  ruling  spirit  is  love.  Alas  !  I  cannot  do  it ; 
but  I  pray  that  the  good  Father  in  His  infinite  mercy  may  open 
your  eyes  to  His  glory,  and  lead  you  forth  His  children  to  do  His 

blessed  will. 

ANN-ELIZA  YOUNG. 


.CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  DAYS  OF  MY  CHILDHOOD.  —  WHY  I  EVER  WAS  A 

MORMON. 

An  Important  Question.  —  Born  in  Mormonism.  — Telling  my  own  Story. 
—Joseph  Smith's  Mission.  —  He  preaches  a  New  Dispensation.  —  Mj 
Parents  Introduced  to  the  Reader.  —  The  Days  before  Polygamy.  —  My 
Mother's  Childhood.  —  Learning  under  Difficulties.  —  First  Thoughts 
of  Mormonism.  —  Received  into  the  Church.  —  Persecution  for  the 
Faith.  —  Forsaking  all  for  the  New  Religion.  —  First  Acquaintance  with 
the  Apostle  Brigham.  —  His  Ambitious  Intrigues.  —  His  Poverty.  —  His 
Mission-work.  —  Deceptive  Appearances.  —  My  Mother's  Marriage.  — 
A  Brief  Dream  of  Happiness. —That  Sweet  Word  "  Home."  —  The 
Prophet  Smith  turns  Banker.  —  The  "  Kirtland  Safety  Society  Bank."  — 
The  Prophet  and  Sidney  Rigdon  Flee.  —  A  Moment  of  Hesitation.  — 
Another  "  Zion  "  Appointed.  —  Losing  All  for  the  Church.  —  Privation 
and  Distress.  —  Sidney  Rigdon  and  his  "Declaration  of  Independence." 
—  He  Excites  an  Immense  Sensation. — Mobs  Assemble  and  Fights 
Ensue.  —  Lively  Times  among  the  Saints.  —  The  Outrages  of  the 
Danites 31 

CHAPTER    II. 

FOUNDING  THE    NEW  RELIGION.  —  ASSASSINATION    OF 
JOSEPH    SMITH. 

The  Saints  expelled  from  Missouri.  —  They  cross  the  Mississippi  into  Illi- 
nois.—  Forming  a  New  Settlement.  —  Arrival  in  Quincy. — A  Kind 
Reception. — The  City  of  "Nauvoo"  Founded.  —  A  New  Temple  Be- 
gun. —  Great  Success  of  the  Foreign  Missions.  —  The  Saints  flock  from 
Europe. — Thousands  assemble  in  Nauvoo. — The  Prophet  Joseph  ap- 

*  plies  for  a  City  Charter.  —  Nauvoo  Incorporated.  —  The  Saints  Petition 
the  National  Government.  —  The  Prophet  visits  Washington.  —  His 
Interview  with  President  Van  Buren  —  He  Coquets  with  Politics.  — He 
Stands  on  the  Edge  of  the  Precipice.  —  The  Saints  in  Danger. —The 
Prophet  Smith  nominated  for  President.  —  He  tries  to  find  the  "  Golden 
Way." — Mormon  Missionaries  preach  Politics.  —  The  Prophet  looks 
towards  the  Pacific  Coast— The  Blind  Obedience  of  the  Saints.  —  The 
Real  Devotion  of  their  Faith. — Gentile  Opinions.  —  How  Boggs  was 
Shot  in  the  Head.  —  The  Spiritual- Wife  Doctrine.  —  Dr.  William  Law 
Protests.  —  Terrible  Charges  against  the  Prophet.  —  The  "Nauvoo  Ex- 
positor"—  The  Prophet  Surrenders.  —  He  is  Murdered  in  Jail.  .  .  49 


14  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  "  REVELATION  ON  CELESTIAL  MARRIAGE."— TROUBLE 
AMONG  THE   SAINTS. 

The  Announcement  of  Polygamy.  —  '•'•Celestial  Marriage." — Joseph 
"sets  himself  Right."  —  Mrs.  Smith  is  very  Rebellious.  —  Mrs.  Smith's 
Adopted  Daughter.  —  The  Prophet  too  fond  of  Fanny.  —  Mrs.  Smith 
takes  her  in  Hand.  —  Marital  Storms.  —  Oliver  Cowdery  called  In. —  He 
goes  and  "  Does  Likewise." — Joseph  first  Preaches  Polygamy.  —  The 
Saints  Rebel.  —  The  Revelation  given  in  Secret.  —  Eleven  "Adopted 
Daughters  "  sealed  to  the  Prophet.  —  A  Domestic  Squall  in  the  Prophet's 
House.  — Nancy  Rigdon  Insulted  by  Joseph.  —  Sidney's  Zeal  Grows 
Cold.  —  How  Celestial  Marriage  was  Introduced.  —  Mr.  Noble  begins  to 
Build  Up  his  Kingdom.  —  The  first  Plural  Marriage.  —  False  Position  of 
the  Second  Wife. — John  C.Bennett.  —  His  Profligacy  and  Crimes. — 
He  Apostatizes  and  Writes  a  Book.  — Joseph  Defends  Himself.  —  Apos- 
tasy of  an  Apostle's  Wife.  —  The  Prophet  in  Difficulties.  —  The  Revela- 
tion on  "  Celestial  Marriage." 65 

CHAPTER  IV. 

AFTER     JOSEPH'S     DEATH.  —  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     ELECTED 

PROPHET. 

Kindness  of  the  Gentiles.  —  Strangers  in  a  Strange  Land.  —  My  Parents 
join  the  Saints  in  Nauvoo. — They  Purchase  Land  in  the  City. — Are 
shamefully  Defrauded. — Joseph's  Unfaithful  Friends.  —  My  Parents  left 
almost  Destitute.  —  I  am  Born  in  the  Midst  of  Troubles.  —  The  Saints 
Bewildered. — Who  should  Succeed  Joseph?— Sidney  Rigdon's  Claims 
to  the  Presidency.  —  He  returns  to  Nauvoo.  —  Has  Dreams  and  Visions. 
—  He  Promises  to  "  Pull  Little  Vic's  Nose."  — The  Apostles  hear  of  the 
Prophet's  Murder.  —  They  hasten  to  Nauvoo.  —  Brigham  begins  his 
Successful  Intrigues.  —  He  Settles  Sidney  Rigdon.  —  An  Extraordinary 
Trial.  —  Brigham's  Idea  of  Free  Voting.  —  Women's  Suffrage  in  Utah.  — 
Why  Brigham  gave  the  Franchise  to  the  Women.  —  My  own  Experience 
as  a  Voter.  —  Brigham  Dictates  what  I'm  to  Do.  —  I  obey  Quietly.  —  How 
Sidney  Rigdon  was  Deposed.  —  Brigham  Rules  the  Church.  ...  87 


CHAPTER  V. 

MY  FATHER'S  PLURAL-WIFE.  — CHILDHOOD  IN  POLYGAMY. 

Childhood  in  Mormondom. — A  striking  Contrast.  — The  Sorrows  of  my 
Earliest  Years.  —  How  my  Mother  received  Polygamy.  —  Submitting  to 
the  Rod.  —  Clinging  to  Love  and  Home.  — Resigning  all  for  Religion. 
—  Strange  ways  of  glorifying  God. — The  Reward  of  Faithfulness. — 
The  Prophet  Joseph  imparts  a  New  Religious  Mystery.  —  The  Breaking- 
up  of  a  Home.  —Fears  of  Rebellion.  —The  Struggle  of  Faith  against 
Nature.  —  Seeking  Rest,  but  finding  None.  —  Brigham's  "  Counsels."  — 
A  New  Wife  Selected.  —My  Parents  enter  into  Polygamy.  —  The  New 
Bride,  Elizabeth. — The  Marriage  Ceremony.  —  My  Mother  Sealed. — 
She  is  to  become  a  Queen.  —  Domeetic  Arrangements  in  Polygamy.  — 
Bearing  the  Cross.  —  A  First  Wife's  Sorrows.  —  "  Where  does  Polygamy 
Hurt?"  —  The  Mormon  Husband  j  his  Position  and  Privileges.  .  .  98 


CONTENTS.  15 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FORSAKING  DEAR  ZION.  — WE   FIND  A  NEW  HOME  IN  THE 

FAR  WEST. 

A  New  Home  in  the  Far  West.  —  Dangerous  Neighbors.  —  Some  very  Un- 
pleasant Stories.  —  Seeking  a  New  Home.  —  Preparing  to  Depart.  — Life 
at  Winter-Quarters.  —  A  Lively  Time  in  the  Temple.  —  "  Little  Dancin' 
Missy."  —  Bound  for  Salt  Lake  Valley.  —  Life  by  the  Way.  -  -  Songs  of 
the  Saints. —A  False  Prophecy.  —  "  The  Upper  California."  —  Saintly 
Profanity.  —  A  Soul-stirring  Melody.  —  The  Saints  Excited.  —  Beside 
the  Camp-Fires. — The  Journey  Ending. — Entering  Zion.  —  The  Val- 
ley of  the  Great  Salt  Lake no 

CHAPTER  VII. 

OUR  WELCOME  TO  "ZION."  — UTAH  IN  EARLY  DAYS. 

Our  Welcome  to  Zion.  —  Housekeeping  under  Difficulties.  —  Our  First 
Home  in  Utah.  —The  Second  Wife's  Baby.  —The  Young  Mother.  —  A 
very  Delicate  Position.  —  Doctors  at  a  Discount.  —  Brigham's  Wife 
turns  Midwife.  —  An  Obedient  Woman.  —  Taking  Care  of  the  Baby. — 
Practising  Economy.  — The  Path  of  the  Crickets.  — Too  much  Cracked 
Wheat.  —  Building  the  First  Mill.  —  Brother  Brigham  Speechifies.  — 
Tea  at  Five  Dollars  per  Pound.  —  Californian  Gold  Discovered.  —  Build- 
ing up  Zion. — Brigham's  "Dress  Reform."  —  A  Rather  Queer  Cos- 
tume. —  The  Women  "  Assert  "  Themselves.  —  Clara  Decker  Rebels.  — 
How  the  Prophet  treats  his  Wives.  —  I  ask  for  some  Furs,  and  am 
Snubbed.  —  How  the  Prophet  doled  out  his  Silk. — Eliza  Snow  and 
Fanny's  Finery.  — The  Prophet  Snubs  Eliza.  —  He  Combats  the  "  Gre- 
cian Bend."  —  Dancing  among  the  Saints.  —  Polygamy  Denied.  —  How 
the  Saints  received  It.  —  A  Nice  Little  Family  Arrangement.  .  .  .  123 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

TROUBLES   UNDER  THE   NEW   SYSTEM. 

The  Sorrows  of  My  Uncle.  —  "  It's  a  Hopeless  Fix."  —  A  Woman's  Argu- 
ment about  Polygamy.  —  My  Mother  "labors"  with  a  First  Wife. — 
Wife  No.  2  "  Walks  Off."  —  Marrying  a  Widow  and  her  Two  Daughters. 

—  Mrs.  Webb  becomes  a  Wife  No.  2.  —  Wife  No.   i  throws  Brickbats 
into  the  Nuptial  Chamber.  —  She  clears  the  Field  of  Extra  Wives.  — 
"Building  up  the  Kingdom."  —  The  Atrocious  Villanies  of  Orson  Pratt. 

—  How  he  has  Seduced  Innocent  Girls.  —  Brigham's  Nephew  Rebels.  — 
Trouble   in   the    Prophet's    Family.  —  Forgetting  a   Wife's   Face.  —  A 
Woman  who  liked  Polygamy 142 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  HARDSHIPS  AND  PERILS  OF  LIFE  IN  A  NEW  COUNTRY. 

"Killed  by  the  Indians."  —  How  Apostates  Disappeared. — A  Suspicious 
Fact.  —  How  Brigham  "took  care"  of  the  People's  Property.  —  The 
Mormon  Battalion.  —  Brigham  Pockets  the  Soldiers'  Pay.  —  How  Pros- 
elytes were  Made.  —  Scapegraces  sent  on  Mission.  —  My  Father  goes  to 


1 6  CONTENTS. 

Europe.  —  How  Missionaries'  wives  are  Left.  —  Collecting  funds  for  the 
Missionaries.  —  Brigham  Embezzles  the  Money. — The  "  Church  Train." 

—  Joseph  A.  Young  as  a  Missionary.  —  His  Misdoings   in   St.  Louis.  — 
What  Brother  Brown  said  of  Him. — The  Perpetual  Emigration  Fund. 

—  How  the   Money  was  Raised.  —  Cheating   the    Confiding   Saints.  — 
How  Brigham  Manages  the  Missionaries'  Property.  —  The  "Church" 
makes  Whiskey  for  the  Saints. — The  Missionaries  bring  home  new 
Wives.  —  How  English  Girls  are  Deceived.  —  My  First  Baptism.     .    160 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE    UTAH    "REFORMATION."  — "A  REIGN   OF    TERROR."— 
THE   BLOOD-ATONEMENT  PREACHED. 

The  Beginning  of  the  Reformation. — The  Payson  Saints  Stirred  Up. — 
What  the  Wicked  "  Saints"  had  been  Doing  Secretly.  —  The  Old  Lady 
who  stole  a  Radish.  —  Confessing  the  sins  of  Others.  —  A  System  of 
Espionnage.  —  Brigham  bids  them  "Go  Ahead!"  —  The  Story  of 
Brother  Jeddy's  Mule.  —  The  Saints  receive  a  terrible  Drubbing. — 
Great  Excitement  in  Mormondom.  —  How  the  Saints  were  Catechized. 
— Indelicate  Questions  are  put  to  Everybody.  —  My  Mother  and  Myself 
Confess. — The  Labors  of  the  Home  Missionaries.  —  Making  Restitu- 
tion. —  Everybody  is  Re-baptized.  —  "Cut  off  Below  their  Ears."  —  The 
"Blood-Atonement"  Preached. — Murder  recommended  in  the  Tab- 
ernacle.—  Cutting  their  Neighbors' throats  for  Love. — A  "Reign  of 
Terror"  in  Utah.  —  Fearful  Outrages  Committed.  —  Murdered  "  by  the 
Indians"? — Brigham  advises  the  Assassination  of  Hatten.  —  Murder 
of  Almon  Babbitt,  Dr.  Robinson,  the  Parrishes,  and  Others.  —  Blood- 
shed the  Order  of  the  Day 181 

CHAPTER  XI. 

"DIVINE  EMIGRATION."— THE  PROPHET  AND  THE  HAND- 
CART SCHEME. 

Early  Emigration  to  Utah. — The  Prophet  Meditates  Economy. — The 
"  Divine  Plan  "  Invented.  —  How  it  was  Revealed  to  the  Saints.  — They 
Prepare  to  "  Gather  to  Zion."  —  How  the  Hand-Carts  were  Built.  —  The 
Sufferings  of  the  Emigrants.  —  On  Board  Ship. — An  Apostolic  Quar- 
rel.—  Base  Conduct  of  the  Apostle  Taylor.  — The  Saints  arrive  in  Iowa 
City. —  How  the  Summer-time  was  Wasted..  —  Beginning  a  Terrible 
Journey.  —  Suffering  by  the  Way.  —  "Going  Cheap." -- They  reach 
Council  Bluffs. — Levi  Savage  Behaves  Bravely.  —  Lying  Prophecy  of 
the  Apostle  Richards.  —  How  the  Emigrants  were  Deceived.  —  Brigham 
Young  sends  Help  to  Them.  —  Two  Apostles  are  Denounced.  —  The 
Prophet  in  a  Fix.  — He  lays  His  own  Sins  on  the  Backs  of  Others. — 
Preparing  to  Receive  the  Emigrants 200 

CHAPTER  XII. 

BRIGHAM'S    HAND-CART    SCHEME,    CONTINUED.  -  FAILURE 
OF  THE   "DIVINE   PLAN." 

Arrival  of  the  First  Train.  —  Fearful  Sufferings  of  the  Emigrants.  — 
Women  and  Girls  toiling  at  the  Carts.  —  The  Prophet's  "Experiment." 
— Burying  the  Dead.  —  Greater  Mortality  among  the  Men.  —  Arrival  of 


CONTENTS.  17 

Assistance.  —  Hand-Cart  Songs.  —  Scenes  in  the  Camp  of  the  Emi- 
grants. —  How  every  Prophecy  of  the  Elders  was  Falsified.  —  I  low  the 
Tennant  Family  were  Shamelessly  Robbed.  —  One  of  the  Vilest  Swin- 
dles of  the  Prophet.  —  Mr.  Tennant's  Unhappy  Death.  —  His  Wife 
Views  the  "Splendid  Property"  Bought  from  Brigham.  —  Brigham 
Cheats  her  out  of  her  Last  Dollar.  — She  is  reduced  to  Abject  Poverty. 
—  The  Apostle  Taylor  Hastens  to  Zion.  —  Richards  and  Spencer  are 
made  Scape-goats.  —  Brigham  evades  all  Responsibility.  —  Utter  Failure 
of  the  "Divine  Plan." 213 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  MOUNTAIN    MEADOWS'  MASSACRE.  -« VENGEANCE  IS 
MINE:    I   WILL   REPAY." 

The  Results  of  the  Reformation.— The  Story  of  a  Fiendish  Deed.  — The 
People's  Mouths  Closed.  —  How  the  Dreadful  Crime  was  Hushed  Up.  — 
Judge  Cradlebaugh's  Efforts  to  Unravel  the  Mystery.  —  Who  were  the 
Guilty  Ones?— The  Emigrants  on  the  Way  to  Utah. —  The  People  For- 
bidden to  sell  them  Food. — They  Arrive  at  Salt  Lake  City.  —  Ordered 
to  Break  Camp.  —  In  need  of  Supplies.  —  Who  was  Accountable  ?  —  Why 
the  Mormons  hated  the  Emigrants. —The  Story  of  Parley  P.  Pratt.— 
How  he  Seduced  McLean's  Wife.  —  Their  Journey  to  Cedar  City.  — 
Hungry  and  Weary,  but  still  Pressing  On.  —  They  Reach  the  Mountain 
Meadows. — Attacked  by  "the  Indians."  —  The  Emigrants  Besieged. — 
Dying  of  Thirst.  — Two  little  Girls  shot  by  the  Mormons.  —  An  Appeal 
for  Help.  —  The  Last  Hope  of  the  Besieged. — Waiting  for  Death.  .  228 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

BETRAYED   AND   MURDERED. —TRIAL   OF  JOHN  D.   LEE. 

The  "White  Flag  of  Peace."  —  Friends  in  the  Distance. — A  Cruel  De- 
ception.—  Mormon  Fiends  plan  their  Destruction. — John  D.  Lee's 
Crocodile  Tears.  —  "  Lay  down  your  Arms,  and  Depart  in  Peace."  —  A 
Horrible  Suspicion.  —  The  Massacre.  —  The  Scene  of  Blood.  —  No  Mercy 
for  Women  and  Children.  —  Robbed  and  Outraged.  —  Murdered  by 
Lee's  Own  Hand. — The  Field  of  Slaughter. — Dividing  the  Property 
of  the  Murdered  Ones.  —  Brigham  Young  Demands  his  Share.  — 
Haunted  by  Spectres.  — John  D.  Lee's  Trial.  —  Instigated  by  Brigham. 
—  No  Justice  in  Utah.  —  Lee's  Confession  made  to  Shield  the  False 
Prophet.  —  Eight  Mormon  and  Four  Gentile  Jurors.  —  What  was  to  be 
Expected? 245 

CHAPTER   XV. 

THE    BLOOD-ATONEMENT.  —  THE    DESTROYING    ANGELS. - 
DANITES  AND  THEIR  DEEDS. 

Sweet,  Saintly  Sentiments.  —  "  He  ought  to  have  his  Throat  cut."  — Too 
many  Gentiles  About.  — The  Spirit  of  "  Blood-Atonement"  Still  Cher- 
ished.—  Present  Position  of  Apostates.  —  How  they  used  to  be  "Cut 
Off."—  "  Cutting  Men  of  below  the  Ears"  —  How  "Accidents"  hap- 


1 8  CONTENTS. 

pened  to  People  who  "Knew  too  Much."— How  Mr.  Langford  ex- 
pressed his  Opinion  too  Freely. — Mormon  Friends  kindly  advise  him 
to  "Shut  Up." — "Be  on  your  Guard!"  —  Poetry  among  the  Saints: 
a  Popular  Song. — Human  Sacrifices  Proposed  I — How  Saints  were 
taught  to  Atone  for  their  Sins.  —  "  Somebody "  ready  to  shed  their 
Blood.  —  "  The  Destroying  Angels:"  who  they  were,  and  what  they 
did.  —  Saints  told  to  do  their  own  "  Dirty  Work."  —  People  who  "  ought 
to  be  Used  up"  —  Murdering  by  Proxy!  —  Brigham  Young  proved  to 
be  the  Vilest  of  Assassins.  —  Hideous  Crimes  of  Porter  Rockwell  and 
Bill  Hickman.  —  How  Rockwell  tried  to  Murder  Governor  Boggs. — 
Hickman  Confesses  his  Atrocious  Crimes.  —  Six  Men  Robbed  of 
$25,000,  and  then  "Used  Up."  —  Another  Frightful  Assassination. — A 
Council  of  Mormon  Murderers.  — The  "Church  "  orders  the  Assassina- 
tion of  the  Aikin  Party 262 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

FRIGHTFUL  DEEDS   OF  BLOOD.  —  MORMONISM  IN  ITS  TRUE 

LIGHT. 

The  Yates  Murder.  —  Brigham  and  the  Leading  Mormons  Arrested  for  the 
Crime.  —  Mr.  Yates  accused  of  being  a  Spy.  —  He  is  Arrested,  and  his 
Goods  Seized.  —  Bill  Hickman  takes  possession  of  the  Prisoner's  Body. 
—  Brigham  Embezzles  his  Gold.  —  Another  Saint  steals  his  Watch. — 
Hickman  carries  him  to  Jones's  Camp.  —  He  is  Murdered  there  while 
Asleep.  —  Hickman  asks  Brigham  for  a  Share  of  the  Spoil.  —  The 
Prophet  refuses;  sticks  to  every  Cent.  —  Hickman's  "faith"'  in  Mor- 
monism  is  Shaken.  —  His  fellow-murderer  Apostatizes  Outright.  —  How 
Bill  was  finally  "paid  in  Wives." — He  tries  a  little  matter  of  Seven- 
teen. —  Fiendish  Outrage  at  San  Pete.  —  Bishop  Snow  contrives  the 
Damnable  Deed  —  The  fate  of  his  Victims.  —  A  Mysterious  Marriage.  — 
The  Feather-beds  and  the  Prophet.  —  Mrs.  Lewis  comes  to  Live 
with  Me 277 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

TROUBLES    IN    OUR   OWN   FAMILY.  —  LOUISE    COMES   UPON 

THE   SCENE. 

Increase  of  Polygamy.  —  Marrying  going  on  Day  and  Night.  —  "  Taking 
a  Wife  and  Buying  a  Cow."  —  A  Faithful  Husband  in  a  Fix.  —  How 
Men  get  "Married  on  the  Sly."  —  How  Wives  were  Driven  Crazy  by 
their  Wrongs.  —  My  Father  Marries  Considerably.  —  He  "  Goes  in  "  for 
the  Hand-Cart  Girls.  —  Marries  a  Couple  to  Begin  with. — Takes  a 
Third  the  same  Month. — Rapid  Increase  of  his  "Kingdom." — How 

.  the  Girls  Chose  Husbands.  — Instructing  the  New  Wives  in  our  Family. 
—  Louise  doesn't  want  to  Work.  —  My  Father  goes  on  Mission  Again.  — 
Louise  Flirts  and  Rebels.  —  She  is  Scolded  and  Repents.  —  Goes  to  Bed 
and  Weeps. — Bestows  her  Goods  on  the  Family.  —  "Lizzie"  Inter- 
views Her.  —  She  Poisons  Herself.  —  Is  a  "  Long  Time  Dying."  —  She 
gets  a  Strong  Dose  of  Cayenne. — Is  sent  on  her  Travels. — The  Last 
we  Heard  of  Her 290 


CONTENTS.  19 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

INCREASE    OF    POLYGAMY.  —  MIXED-UP    CONDITION   OF 
MATRIMONIAL    AFFAIRS. 

Christ  alleged  to  be  a  Polygamist.  —  The  Men  to  save  the  Women.  —Mak- 
ing "Tabernacles  "  for  little  Spirits.  — The  Story  of  certain  Ladies  who 
were  Deceived.  —  They  Discover  a  Mystery.  —  Their  Fate.  —  Orson 
Hyde's  False  Prophecy.  —  Throwing  Mud  at  Apostates.  —  Death  pre- 
ferred to  Polygamy.  —  Frightful  Intermarriages.  —  Married  his  Mother- 
in-law.  —  A  Man  who  Married  his  Wife's  Grandmother,  Mother,  and 
All.  —  Marrying  a  Half-Sister,  -r-  Marrying  Nieces  and  Sisters.  —  How 
Emigrant  Girls  were  Married  Off.  —  Frightful  Story  of  a  Poor  Young 
Girl.  —  Polygamy  and  Madness.  —  One  Woman's  Love  too  Little. — 
How  English  Girls  were  Deceived.  —  How  Claude  Spenser  committed  a 
Damnable  Wrong.  —  A  Girl  who  was  Martyred  for  her  Religion.  —  How 
the  Bereaved  Husband  Acted. —A  Man  with  thirty-three  Children. — 
"They  never ^cost  him  a  Cent."  —  A  Many-Wived  Saint.  —  Mixed-up 
Condition  of  Marital  Affairs 306 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    MYSTERIES    OF    POLYGAMY.  —  WHAT    THE    WIVES 
COULD    TELL. 

Incestuous  Intermarriages.  — A  Widow  and  her  Daughters  married  to  the 
same  Man.  —  "Marrying  my  Pa." — The  "  U.  S."  Government  Con- 
niving at  Mormon  Iniquities.  —  Beastly  Conduct  of  Delegate  George  Q^ 
Cannon.  —  Polygamists  legislating  for  Bigamists.  —  Mother  and  Daugh- 
ter fighting  for  the  same  Man  !  —  it  is  Wicked  to  Live  with  an  Old  Wife. 
—  A  Toting  lover  Ninety  Years  Old!  —  A  Bride  Eleven  Years  Old. — 
Brides  of  Thirteen  and  Fourteen  Years !  —  I  receive  an  "Offer"  when 
Twelve  Years  Old!  —  Old  Ladies  at  a  Discount:  Young  Women  at  a 
Premium.  —  Respect  for  the  Silver  Crown  of  Age.  —  Heber  gives  his 
Opinion.  —  "  Why  is  She  making  such  a  Fuss?"  —  Seeing  One's  Hus- 
band Once  a  Year.  —  The  Rascality  of  Orson  Hyde  towards  his  Wife.  — 
When  Rival  Wives  make  Friends.  —  A  Very  Funny  Story  about  an 
Apostle  and  his  Wife.  —  Rights  of  the  First  Wife  :  Brigham  Young  in  a 
Fix. —  He  treats  an  Early  Wife  to  a  Dance.  —  Amelia  in  the  Shade. — 
The  Prophet  becomes  Frisky.  —  Poor,  neglected  Emmeline. —  How  Po- 
lygamy was  once  Denied.  —  A  Mistake  which  a  French  Lady  Made.  — 
M'ilk  for  Babes 320 

CHAPTER   XX. 

BRIGHAM  BUILDS   WAGONS   BY   "  INSPIRATION."  —  THE 
CHURCH    SETS   UP  A  WHISKEY-STORE. 

faying  "Yes"  under  Difficulties.  —  A  Woman  who  Meant  to  have  her 
Way. —  Two  Company:  Three  None.  —  Building  Wagons  by  Inspira- 
tion.—My  Father  despatched  to  Chicago.  —  He  gets  rid  of  his  New 
Wives.  —  My  Brother  sent  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  —  My  Mother  tells 
her  own  Story.  —  She  Returns  to  Salt  Lake  City  to  see  my  Father.  — 
Wifely  Considerations. —  She  finds  two  other  Ladies  at  her  Husband's 
Bedside.  —  He  likes  a  good  deal  of  Wives  about  Him!  — A  Heart  dead 


2O  CONTENTS. 

to  Love.  —  Brigham  "asks  no  odds  of  Uncle  Sam  or  the  Devil." — He 
proclaims  Martial  Law.  —  Fiery  Speeches  in  the  Tabernacle.  —  Prepar- 
ing for  War.  —  Government  Troops  Arrive.  — The  Saints  quit  Salt  Lake 
City.  — The  Church  Distillery.  — Brigham  shamelessly  Robs  my  Father. 

—  He  fills  his  own  Pockets.  —  My  Father,  being  without  Funds,  takes 
his  Sixth  Wife 333 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

GOING    THROUGH    THE     "ENDOWMENT-HOUSE."  —  !    TAKE 
THE   MYSTERIOUS   BATHS. 

No  Physic  among  the  Saints.  —  I  am  taken  Sick.  —  Heber  C.  Kimball 
recommends  "Endowments."  —  How  Brigham  Murdered  his  little 
Granddaughter.  —  The  Prophet  wants  a  Doctor.  —  Being  "  administered  " 
To.  —  I  am  Re-baptized. —  Receive  my  Endowments. —  How  Saintly 
Sins  are  Washed  Away.  — Undignified  Conduct  of  Elders.  — The  Order 
of  Melchisedec.  —  How  I  was  "  Confirmed."  —  To  become  a  Celestial 
Queen.  —  I  go  down  to  the  Endowment-House.  —  The  Mysterious  Cer- 
emonies Described.  —  The  Veil  at  last  Lifted.  —  The  Secrets  of  the 
Endowment-House  Exposed.  — I  enter  the  Bath.  —  Miss  Snow  Washes 
Me.  —  She  Anoints  Me  All  Over.  —  I  dress  in  a  Bed-gown.  — The  "  Pe- 
culiar Garment"  of  the  Saints.  —  What  the  Mormon  Girls  do  about  It. 

—  "Going   through"   without   a    Husband.  —  "A  Great    Shouting   for 
Sarah  !  " 349 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

WE    CARRY  ON    THE    ENDOWMENT  DRAMA.  — I  AM   FULLY 

INITIATED. 

In  the  Endowment-House.  —  How  the  "  Kings  and  Priests"  appeared  in 
their  Shirts.  — The  Poor  Fellows  "feel  Bad!"  — The  "Gods"  hold  a 
Conversaziotte.  — Michael  is  sent  down  to  Earth.  — The  "  Tree  of  Life." 

—  How  Raisins  grew  instead  of  Apples.  —  Not  good  to  be  Alone.  —  The 
Rib  abstracted  and  little  Eve  made.  —  The  Devil  dressed  in  "Tights."  — 
John  D.  Lee   once  a   Devil.  —  Eve's   Flirtation.  —  She   eats  Forbidden 
Fruit.  —  Tempts  her  Husband. — Fig-leaves  come   into  Fashion.  —  We 
hide  in  Holes  and  Corners. — The  Devil  is  Cursed  and  we  are  Lectured. 

—  The  Second  Degree.  —  Story  of  a  Pugnacious  Woman.  — The  Terri- 
ble Oaths  of  the   Endowment-House.  —  Pains  and  Penalties.  —  Signs 
and  Grips.  —  "  Good-bye !  "  —  Brother  Heber  gives  me  Advice.  .    .    .    362 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE  PROPHET  MAKES  LOVE  TO  ME.  —  I  HAVE  OTHER 

VIEWS. 

The  Prophet  Casts  his  Eye  on  Me.  —  He  Objects  to  my  Beaux.  —  "  A  Low 
Set  Anyway."  —  I  Didn't  Want  to  Marry  the  Prophet.  —  He  Considers 
Himself  an  Irresistible  Lover.  — My  First  Drive  with  the  Prophet.  —  I 
Join  the  Theatrical  Corps.  —  How  We  "Got  Up"  our  Parts.  —  How 
"  Fun  Hall  "  was  Built.  —  The  Prophet  Erects  a  Theatre  out  of  Temple 
Funds.  —  How  Julia  Deane,  the  Actress,  Fascinated  the  Prophet.  —  How 
Brigham  Cheated  the  Actors  in  his  Theatre.  — The  Girls  Grumble  over 
their  Scanty  Fare.  —  They  want  Something  Good  to  Eat.  —  My  New 
Beau.— Love  at  First  Sight.  —  I  am  Engaged  to  My  First  Husband.  373 


CONTENTS.  21 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MY  FIRST  MARRIAGE.— A  LIFE'S   MISTAKE. 

My  First  Marriage.  — Wedded  to  James  Dee.  —  Marriage  Rites  in  the  En- 
dowment-House.—  The  way  in  which  Plural  Wives  are  Taken.  —  Brig- 
ham  sends  for  Me  to  help  in  the  Theatre.  —  Repenting  of  Matrimony.  — 
I  get  tired  of  it  in  a  Month.  —  Cruel  Conduct  of  my  Husband.  —  He 
flirts  considerably  with  the  Young  Girls.  —  I  am  greatly  Disgusted  and 
furiously  Jealous.— He  threatens  to  take  another  Wife. — The  Owner- 
ship of  Women  in  Utah.  —  How  Newspaper  Reporters  are  humbugged 
by  Brigham.  —  How  Visitors  to  Salt  Lake  are  Watched.  —  The  Proph- 
et's Spies.  —  How  People  are  misled  about  Utah  Affairs.  — The  Miseries 
of  the  Women  Overlooked 387 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

EARLY  MARRIED  LIFE.— MY  HUSBAND  AND  MY  MOTHER. 

My  early  married  Life.  —  We  go  to  live  with  my  Mother.  —  Incompatibility 
of  Temper.  —  How  my  Mother  had  opposed  our  Marriage.  —  My  Hus- 
band does  not  Admire  Her.  —  He  goes  after  the  Girls.  —  I  don't  like  it 
at  All.  — I  become  extremely  angry  with  Him.  —  He  is  advised  to  "  in- 
crease hjs  Kingdom." —  How  Promises  to  Wives  are  broken  by  Mormon 
Men.  —  How  Women  are  Snubbed  and  Undervalued.  —  I  become  anxious 
and  Watchful.  —  How  Heber  comforted  his  Wives.  —  My  Husband  sub- 
jects me  to  personal  Violence.  —  He  is  afraid  of  Results.  —  My  first 
Baby  is  Born.  —  Zina  Young  marries  into  Polygamy.  —  Contrast  be- 
tween Mormon  and  Gentile  Husbands.  —  "  The  Bull  never  cares  for  the 
Calves."  —  My  Husband  nearly  strangles  Me.  —  I  leave  him,  and  go  to 
my  Parents.  —  Brigham  gives  me  some  good  Advice.  —  I  obtain  a 
Divorce.  —  I  rejoice  at  being  free  Again 398 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

AFTER  MY  DIVORCE.  —  AFFAIRS   AT   HOME. 

After  my  Divorce  from  Dee.  —  "Is  Polygamy  good  to  Eat?"  —  Curious 
Experiences  among  the  Saints. — A  Man  who  thought  his  Heart  was 
Broken.  —  How  Two  Wives  Rebelled. —The  Husband  in  a  Fix.  —  He 
Runs  Away  from  Home.  —  Dismisses  his  Plural  Wife.  —  Being  "Sealed  " 
to  Old  Women  for  Eternity.  —Nancy  Chamberlain's  Story.  —  Who  is  to 
be  Brigham's  Queen  in  Heaven?— An  Old  Wife  Dresses  up  as  a  Ghost. 
—  How  Brother  Shaw  Replenished  his  Exchequer.  —  The  Battles  be- 
tween my  Father's  Wives. — My  Mother  Enjoys  his  Troubles. — The 
Story  of  a  Turkey.  —  A  First  Wife  Asserts  Her  Rights.  —  My  Life  at 
South  Cottonwood.  —  I  Receive  Offers  of  Marriage 412 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

A  WALK  WITH   THE   PROPHET.  — HE    MAKES   LOVE  TO  ME. 

How  Brigham  Travels  through  the  Territory. —  Triumphant  Receptions 
Everywhere.  —  Trying  to  Establish  the  "Order  of  Enoch."— How  the 
Prophet  Insulted  his  Faithful  Followers.  —  "  Rheumatism"  in  the  Tern- 


22  CONTENTS. 

per.  —  Grand  Doings  in  the  Settlements.  —  We  go  to  meet  the  Prophet. 

—  How  the  Saints  were  Lectured  in  the  Bowery.  —  How  Brigham  gave 
Howard  a  Piece  of  Land.  —  Howard  Insulted  by  the  Prophet.  —  Over- 
looking the  Prophet's  Lies.  —  Van  Etten  becomes  Brigham's  "Friend." 

—  He  Helps  Him  to  Steal  a  Hundred  Sheep.  —  He  makes  a  Big  Haul, 
and  Escapes  to  Canada.  —The  Prophet  Ogles  Me  during  Service-Time. 

—  We   Take   a   Walk   Home   Together.  —  He   Compliments    My   Good 
Looks.  —  Makes  Love  to  Me.  —  Matrimonial  Advice.  —  Brigham  Wishes 
Me  to  Become  His  Wife 426 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

HOW  BRIGHAM  YOUNG   FORCED   ME  TO   MARRY   HIM. 

Brigham's  Offer  of  Marriage.  —  I  think  the  Prophet  too  Old.  — My  Parents 
are  Delighted  with  the  Honor.  —  They  Try  to  Persuade  Me.  —  I  am 
Very  Obstinate. — Arguing  the  Matter.  —  How  Brigham  Found  Means 
to  Influence  Me.  —  My  Brothers  get  into  Trouble. — The  Prophet  and 
the  Telegraph-Poles.  —  He  takes  a  Nice  Little  Contract.  —Then  Sells  it 
to  his  Son.  —  Bishop  Sharp  makes  a  Few  Dollars  out  of  It. — My 
Brother  Engages  in  the  Work.  —  He  Becomes  Involved  in  Debts  and 
Difficulties.  —  Brigham  Threatens  to  Cut  Him  Off  for  Dishonesty. — 
My  Mother  Tries  to  Excuse  Him.  —  Hemmed  In  on  All  Sides,  I  Deter- 
mine to  Make  One  Last  Appeal.  —  I  fail,  and  Consent  to  Marry  Him.  440 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MY  MARRIAGE  WITH  BRIGHAM  YOUNG.  —  HOW  THE  OTHER 
WIVES   RECEIVED   ME. 

The  Prophet  Rejoices  at  my  Yielding.  — My  Family  Restored  to  Favor.  — 
The  Webbs  Reconstructed.  —  My  Prophet-Lover  Comes  to  See  Me.  — 
He  Goes  Courting  "  on  the  Sly,"  for  Fear  of  Amelia.  —  We  are  Married 
Secretly  in  the  Endowment-House.  —  I  am  Sent  Home  Again.  —  Brig- 
ham  Establishes  me  in  the  City.  —  Limited  Plates  and  Dishes.  —  \Ve 
Want  a  Little  More  Food.  —  The  Prophet's  "  Ration-Day."^  How  the 
Other  Wives  Received  Me.  —  Mrs.  Amelia  Doesn't  Like  Me.  —  How  the 
Wives  of  the  Prophet  Worry  and  Scold  Him.  — The  Prophet  Breaks  his 
Word. — My  Father  Remembers  the  Thousand  Dollars 455 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE   PROPHET'S   FAMILY   CIRCLE.  —  HIS   WIVES  AND 
CHILDREN. 

The  Prophet  Marries  his  First  and  Legal  Wife.  —  How  she  lives,  and  how 
Brigham  has  treated  Her.  — The  Prophet's  Eldest  Son.  —  The  Story  of 
his  Life.  —  His  Wives  and  Families.  —  Mary  and  Maggie.  —  The  Favor- 
ite Wife,  Clara.  —  Young  "  Briggy  "  and  his  Expectations.  —  What  the 
Saints  think  of  Him.  —  His  Domestic  Joys.  —  How  he  visited  me  when 
Sick,  and  Scolded  the  old  Gentleman.  —  Brigham  and  "Briggy "make 
love  to  Lizzie.  — Briggy  Wins.  —  "John  W." —  He  neglects  his  "  King- 
dom." —  "  Won  by  the  Third  Wife."  — The  Story  of  Lucy  C.  —  The 
Prophet's  Daughters.  —  Alice  and  Luna.  —  Miss  Alice's  Flirtations.— 
Sweet  Language  between  Father  and  Daughter.  —  Tragic  Death  of 
Alice  Clawson 468 


CONTENTS.  23 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE   WIVES    OF    THE    PROPHET.  — BROTHER  BRIGHAM'S 
DOMESTIC    TROUBLES. 

The  Wives  of  the  Prophet.  —  Lucy  Decker.  —  A  Mysterious  Disappear- 
ance. —  Lucy's  Boys.  —  Brigham's  Wife,  Clara.  —  Her  Busy  Household 
Work.  — About  the  Girls.  —  Harriet  Cook.  —  She  Expresses  Unpleasant 
Opinions.  —  Brigham  is  frightened  of  Her.  —  He  Keeps  out  of  the  Way. 

—  Amelia  and    the    Sweetmeats.  —  How   one   of  Brigham's   Daughters 
Scandalized  the  Saints.  —  How  Mrs.  Twiss  Manages  the  Prophet's  House. 

—  The  Work  a  Woman  can  Do.  —  Martha  Bowker  and  her  silent  Work. 

—  Sweet  and  saintly  Doings  of  the  Prophet.  —  Concerning  Harriet  Bar- 
ney. —  The  Wife  who  k'  Served  Seven  Years  "  for  a  Husband.  —  Another 
English  Wife  of  the  Prophet.  —  The  "  Young  Widow  of  Nauvoo."  .  484 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE    PROPHET'S    FAVORITE    WIFE.  —  HOW   HE   CONDUCTED 
HIS   LOVE   AFFAIRS. 

The  Prophet's  Favorite  Wife,  Amelia.  —  How  Brigham  made  Love  in  the 
Name  of  the  Lord.  —  How  he  won  an  Unwilling  Bride.  — A  Lady  with 
a  Sweet  Temper.  —  How  she  Kicked  a  Sewing-Machine  down  the 
Prophet's  Stairs.  —  She  has  a  new  House  built  for  Her.  —  Rather  Ex- 
pensiVe  Habits.  —  Her  Pleasant  Chances  for  the  Future.  —  Mary  Van 
Cott  Cobb.  —  A  Former  Love  of  the  Prophet's.  —  Miss  Eliza-Roxy 
Snow.  —  The  Mormon  Poetess.  — Joseph  Smith's  Poetic  Widow.  —  Ver- 
sification of  the  Saints.  — Mrs.  Augusta  Cobb.  —  Emily  Partridge.  .  497 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  DEAD  WIVES  OF  THE  PROPHET.  —  HE  NEVER  WAS 
KNOWN  TO  SHED  A  TEAR. 

The  Discarded  Favorite.  —  The  Story  of  Emmeline  Free.  —  A  Stupendous 
Humbug.  — A  "  Free"  Opinion  of  Mormonism.  — Amelia  comes  upon 
the  Scene.  —  How  Brigham  Insulted  Emmeline  Free.  —  Brigham  is 
Ashamed  of  his  Cowardice.  — I  tell  him  a  little  of  my  Mind. — Joseph 
A.  Expresses  his  Opinion.  —  Apologizes  for  his  Father.  —  Death  of 
Emmeline  Free. — The  Story  of  Clara  Chase.  —  The  Prophet's  Maniac 
Wife.  —  Ellen  Rockwood,  and  the  Cause  of  her  Neglect.  —  A  Wife  who 
was  visited  once  in  Six  Months.  —  Margaret  Alley. — How  the  Prophet 
treated  his  Dead  Wife.  —  He  steals  her  Children's  Property.  —  How  he 
Scandalized  another  Wife,  and  sent  her  Home.  —  He  "Never  shed  a 
tear  at  a  Wife's  Death." 506 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

THE    PROPHET   AT    HOME. —  HOW    HE    LOOKS,    LIVES,    AND 
ACTS.— MORMON  PHILANTHROPY  AND  EDUCATION. 

Brigham  at  Forty-five  and  at  Seventy-five.  —  Slipping  the  Yoke. —The 
Salt  Lake  Tribune.  —  Books  on  Mormonism.  —  Prophetic  Philanthropy. 
—  The  New  Temple.  —  Paying  the  Workmen.  —  The  Tabernacle.  —  Ad- 


24  CONTENTS. 

vantages  of  the  Presidency.  —  Free  Schools  and  Liberal  Education. 
—  Sharp  Practice.  —  The  Rich  and  the  Poor. — Unconscious  Sarcasm.— 
Looking  into  the  Future.  —  The  Spectacles  of  Ignorance.  —  Personal 
Habits. —The  Prophet's  Barber. —  Dinner  at  the  Lion  House.  — The 
Good  Provider.  —  Helping  Herself.  —  Prophetic  Cunning.  —  Evening 
Devotions. — A  Gift  in  Prayer.  —  Advice  to  the  Deity.  —  Fatherless 
Children.  —  The  Bee  Hive.  —  Monogamist  vs.  Polygamist 517 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

BRIGHAM    AS  A  FARMER.  —  MY  NEW   HOUSE.  —  TAKING 
BOARDERS. 

One  Year  after  Marriage.  —  Life  at  the  Farm.  —  House-keeping  Extraordi- 
nary.—  Bread  and  Milk  Dinners.  —  Brigham  Tries  to  Catch  us  Nap- 
ping. —  Hours  of  Labor.  —  Dejection.  —  My  New  House.  —  Parlor 
Stairs.  —  "  Wells  Wanted."  —  My  Mother  receives  Notice  to  Quit.  —  My 
Elder  Brother  Pays  her  Board.  —  Failing  Faith. — Taking  Boarders. — 
The  Prophet's  Contemptible  Meanness.  —  Brigham's  Neglect.  —  Rev. 
Mr.  Stratton.  —  I  open  my  Heart.  —  The  New  Religion.  —  Woman's 
Sphere.  —  First  Glimpses  of  the  Outer  World.  —  Forming  Resolu- 
tions  532 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

BREAKING  THE   YOKE.  —  I   LEAVE   MY   HOME. 

The  Workings  of  Destiny.  —  A  Noble  Lawyer.  —  A  Small  Stove  and  a 
Large  Family.  —  Last  Interview  with  Brigham.  — A  Startling  Proposal. 

—  Sickness  and  Gentile  Care.  —  Brigham's  Police.  —  A  Moral  Thunder- 
bolt. —  My  Third  Baptism.  — A  Religious  Farce.  —  I  Decide  to  Escape. 

—  A    Memorable   Day.  —  Removing   in    Forty   Minutes. — The   Walker 
House.  — Among  the  Gentiles.  —  A  Perilous  Situation.  —  New  Hopes.  — 
Interviewed  by  Reporters.  —  Unwelcome  Notoriety.  — A  Touching  Let- 
ter.—  A  Visit  from  my  Father. — The  Paper  War.  —  Overshooting  the 
Mark.  —  Sueing  for  a  Divorce. — A  Tempting  Offer,  $15,000  and  my 
Freedom. — The  Prophet  Astonished 542 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

THE     DIVORCE     SUIT.  —  PROCEEDINGS     IN     COURT.  —  BRIG- 
HAM'S    AFFIDAVIT. 

I  bring  an  Action  against  the  Prophet.  — My  "  Complaint"  against  Him. 

—  What  the   "Complaint"   Stated. — My  Birth  and  Early  Life.  —  My 
Marriage  with    the    Prophet.  —  Exile    to    Brigham's    Farm.  —  Cause  of 
Action  for  Divorce.  —  The  Question  of  Alimony.  —  My  Own  Affidavit. 

—  Corroborative  Testimony.  —  Opinion  of  Judge   McKean.  —  Brigham 
Young's   Reply  and  Affidavit.  —  The  Prophet  states    the  Value  of  his 
Property.  —  Wonderful  Difference  of  Opinion.  —  Proceedings  in  Court. 

—  Judge   McKean    Sums  Up.  —  Order   for   Allowance   and   Alimony.  -- 
Judge  McKean  Removed.  —  His  Order  Quashed  by  the  New  Judge. --- 
The  latest  Proceedings 553 


CONTENTS.  25 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

MY  ESCAPE  FROM  SALT  LAKE  CITY.  — MY  PUBLIC  CAREER. 

Thoughts  of  the  Future. — The  Gentile  Papers.  — A  Private  Audience  at  the 
Walker  House.  —  Hopes  and  Fears.  —  I  Resolve  to  Take  the  Platform.  — 
Sneers  and  Ridicule.  — Brigham  is  made  Acquainted  with  my  Plans.  — 
Packing  under  Difficulties.  —  My  Perilous  Escape  from  Utah.  —  A  Noble 
Woman.  — Arrival  at  Laramie.  — Denver.  —  My  First  Public  Lecture.  — 
A  Grand  Success.  —  Brigham  at  Work. — A  Scandalous  Article  in  the 
Chicago  Times.  —  A  Mean  Lawyer.  —  Lecture  at  Boston.  —  Kindness 
of  the  Members  of  Boston  Press.  —  Opposed  by  George  Q^  Cannon.  — 
Washington  Lecture  a  Success.  —  First  Glimpses  of  the  True  Faith.  — 
Conversion  to  Christianity 566 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

CHURCH    GOVERNMENT.  —  MORMON    APOSTLES.  -  THE    OR- 
DER   OF    ENOCH. 

Mormon  Administration.  —  The  Earthly  Trinity.  —  Filling  Vacancies. — 
Mormon  Apostles.  —  Polygamy  made  Profitable.  —  The  Seventy. — Two- 
Dollar  Blessings.  —  Astounding  Promises.  —  Bishops  and  Spies.  —  The 
Order  of  Enoch. — All  things  in  Common.-— An  Apostolic  Row. — 
How  Enoch  Works.  —  A  Stupid  Telegram.  —  Logic  Extraordinary.  — A 
Gigantic  Swindle. — Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile  Institution.  —  Brig- 
hatn's  Revelations.  — The  Saints  Laugh  in  their  Sleeves.  —  "It  pays  to 
be  a  Mormon." — Beginning  to  see  through  It.  —  The  Apostate  Pres- 
ident  577 

CHAPTER  XL. 

THE    CONDITION    OF    MORMON   WOMEN.  — HIGH    AND    LOW 
LIFE    IN    POLYGAMY. 

Increasing  Light.  — The  Equality  of  the  Sexes.  — Exaggeration  Impossi- 
ble. —  Likely  Saviours.  —  The  Present  Condition  of  Mormon  Women.  — 
The  Prospects  for  the  Future.  —  Polygamy  Bad  for  Rich  and  Poor.  —  A 
Happy  Family. — The  Happiness  Marred.  —  Sealed  for  Time  Only. — 
Building  on  Another  Man's  Foundation.  —  The  New  Wife. — How  the  Old 
One  Fared. — The  Husband's  Death  a  Relief. — Asa  Calkins's  English 
Mission.  —  What  Came  of  It.  —  How  to  Get  Rich.  —  Two  Sermons  from 
One  Text.  —  Dividing  the  Spoil.  —  No  Woman  Happy  in  Polygamy.  589 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

MY  RETURN  TO  UTAH.— SECRET  OF  BRIGHAM'S   POWER.— 
UTAH'S    FUTURE. 

I  Return  to  Utah. — Reception  at  the  Walker  House.  —  Greeting  old 
Friends.  —  My  Love  for  the  Place. —  Six  Lectures  in  the  Territory. — 
Brigham's  Daughters  make  Faces  at  me. — My  Father  and  Mother  in 
the  Audience.  —  The  Half  not  told.  —  Multitudes  Pleading  for  Freedom. 
—  Eastern  Newspaper  Reports.  —  Indiscretion.  —  The  Poland  Bill. — 
Increase  of  Polygamy. — The  Secrets  of  Brigham's  Power.  —  The  Pulpit 
and  Press  on  Mormonism.  —  The  Salt  Lake  City  Tribune.  —  A  Word  to 
the  Sufferers.  —  Calls  for  Help.—  The  Future  of  Utah 598 


PAGE 

Portrait  of  Ann  Eliza  Young  (SV^e/), Frontispiece. 

Turned  out  of  Doors, 31 

Preaching  the  New  Religion, 37 

Joseph  Smith,  the  Founder  of  Mormonism, 40 

The  Night  of  Terror, 46 

Nauvoo  Temple, 49 

Burning  of  the  Newspaper  Office, 62 

Assassination  of  Joseph  Smith  and  his  brother  Hyrum, 64 

Emma  Smith,  "  The  Elect  Lady," 65 

The  Indignant  Wife, 69 

The  First  Plural  Marriage, 72 

Arrival  at  Quincy,  Illinois, 87 

Sidney  Rigdon, 90 

My  First  Vote, 95 

My  Father's  First  Plural  Marriage, 98 

"  Do  you  think  /have  no  Trials?" 107 

Winter  Quarters, no 

A  Blessing  from  Brigham, 115 

Singing  the  Rallying  Song, 120 

The  Journey  to  Zion.  —  Crossing  the  Plains, 121 

Brigham  Imitating  the  "  Grecian  Bend," 123 

Anointing  the  Sick  with  Oil, 125 

The  Deseret  Costume, 130 

Brigham  Refuses  my  Request,      133 

The  Ball  in  the  Bowery, 137 

The  Dissatisfied  Wife, .    .    . 142 

The  Apostle  Orson  Pratt,  "The  Champion  of  Polygamy," 150 

Joseph  Young,  Brother  of  Brigham,  and  President  of  the  Seventies,  15,1 


28  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Brigham's  Brotherly  Love, 153 

Discouraging  Apostasy, 160 

Brigham  Seizing  Cattle  for  the  Church, 163 

Apostle  Lorenzo  Snow, 166 

Apostle  C.  C.  Rich,      166 

Apostle  A.  Carrington, 166 

Apostle  Joseph  F.  Smith, 166 

Apostle  Erastus  Snow, 166 

Joseph  A.  Young  Preparing  for  Missionary  Work, 171 

E.  Hunter,  Presiding  Bishop  Mormon  Church, 172 

Doing  Missionary  Work, 178 

Awakening  the  Saints, 181 

"  Scene  during  Reformation," 185 

Dealing  with  a  Weak  Brother, 191 

Brutal  Assault  upon  Mrs.  Jarvis,      193 

Blood  Atonement.  —  Scene  during  Reformation, 198 

The  Emigrants'  Landing-Place,  "  Castle  Gardens,  New  York,"    .    .    .  200 

Apostle  Franklin  D.  Richards,  "  Husband  of  Ten  Wives," 202 

Mormon  Emigrants  on  Shipboard, 205 

The  Hand-Cart  Train, 210 

"  Some  will  Push,  and  some  will  Pull," 213 

Relief  in  Sight,      215 

Arrival  of  "  Hand-Cart  Companies"  at  Salt  Lake  City, 221 

"Vengeance  is  Mine." 228 

Parley  P.  Pratt,      .    . 235 

Assassination  of  Parley  P.  Pratt, 237 

John  D.  Lee  (Has  nineteen  wives  and  sixty-four  children), 238 

The  Murder  of  Two  Little  Girls, 241 

Murdered  by  Lee's  Own  Hand, 245 

Murdering  the  Women  and  Children, 247 

The  Mountain  Meadows  Massacre, 248 

Scene  after  the  Massacre, 249 

Using  up  an  Apostate, 262 

Brigham's  "  Destroying  Angel,"  "  Port "  Rockwell,      269 

Murder  of  the  Aiken  Party, 272 

Brigham  Young's  Farm-House, 277 

Bill  Hickman,  Brigham's  "Destroying  Angel," 279 

Brigham  Wooing  Widow  Lewis,      284 

Only  a  Wife  out  of  the  Way, 290 

Life  a  Burden 293 

Bird's-Eye  View  of  Salt  Lake  City, 295 

The  New  Addition, 297 

Scene  in  Polygamy.  —  Greeting  the  Favorite, 305 

The  Maniac  Wife, 306 

The  Happy  Home  of  a  Polygamist, 313 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  2p 

PAGE 

Broken-Hearted, 317 

Orson  Hyde  and  Forgotten  Wife, 320 

Apostle  George  Q±  Cannon,  Member  of  Congress  (Has  four  Wives 

and  thirteen  Children), 322 

Apostle  Orson  Hyde, 324 

Brigham  in  a  Quandary, 327 

Apostle  John  Taylor  (Husband  of  Six  Wives), 330 

Mormons  Burning  a  Government  Train, 333 

A  Good  Deal  of  Wives.  —  Too  much  Attention, 339 

Remains  of  Adobe  Defences, 341 

Mormons  Selling  Provisions  to  United  States  Troops, 343 

Brigham's  Folly,  "  The  Prairie  Schooner," 347 

Taking  my  Endowments  Behind  the  Curtain, 349 

Mormon  Baptism,      352 

Mormon  Confirmation, 354 

The  Endowment  House,      356 

The  Devil  of  the  Endowment  House, 362 

Apostle  Willard  Woodruff  ("Timothy  Broadbrim"), 364 

Receiving  the  Endowments, 366 

Apostle  Heber  C.  Kimball, 371 

My  First  Appearance  in  Brigham's  Theatre 373 

My  First  Ride  with  Brigham, 376 

Brigham's  Theatre, 379 

A  Life  of  Unhappiness, 387 

Family  Jars, 398 

My  Baby  Boy, 403 

Strangled  by  my  Husband, 407 

"  Grandma,  what  is  Polygamy?" 412 

No  Peace  with  Polygamy, 415 

Old  Farm-House  at  Cottonwood, 422 

Brigham  on  his  Travels, 426 

Brigham  Preaching  at  South  Cottonwood, 430 

Breaking  the  News, 440 

Chauncey  G.  Webb  ("My  Father"), 444 

Eliza  C.  Webb  ("My  Mother"), 445 

Brigham's  Stormy  Interview  with  my  Mother, 452 

Amelia  tries  to  Keep  Me  Out, 455 

Amelia's  Display  of  Temper, 463 

Insulted  by  her  Father, 468 

Joseph  A.  .Young,      471 

Maggie  Young  (Joseph  A.'s  Discarded  Wife), 473 

"Briggy"  (The  Prophet's  Successor), 474 

John  W.  Young, 477 

Lucy  Rebellious, 479 

Kissing  Libbie  Good  Night, 4&> 


3O  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Mrs.  Alice  Young  Clawson  (Brigham's  Eldest  Daughter), 482 

Emmeline  Serving  Brigham  and  Amelia, 484 

Clara  Decker  (Wife  of  Brigham), 486 

The  Lion  House  (Brigham  Young's  Residence), 490 

The  Lion  House  and  Brigham's  Offices, 493 

Brigham  Looks  Amazed, 497 

Amelia  Folsom  (Brigham's  Favorite  Wife), 498 

Miss  Eliza  R.  Snow  (Mormon  Poetess), 501 

Zina  D.  Huntington  (Wife  of  Brigham),      502 

Zina  Williams  (Brigham's  Daughter), 503 

A  Little  Conversation  with  Brigham, 506 

Waiting  for  Brigham  to  Keep  his  Promise, 509 

The  Disgraced  Wife, 515 

Dinner  at  the  Lion  House, 517 

Brigham  Young  (Full  Page  Portrait),   . 520 

Mormon  Temple  (now  Building), 523 

Interior  of  Tabernacle  on  Sundays, 524 

Family  Prayers  at  Bee  Hive  House, 529 

Toiling  for  Brigham, 532 

Relating  my  Story  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stratton,      540 

Alone  at  the  Hotel, 542 

Carrying  my  Furniture  to  the  Auction  Room, 546 

Excitement  in  Salt  Lake  City, 548 

Brigham  Fined  and  Imprisoned  for  Contempt  of  Court, 553 

Flight  at  Night, 566 

Escape  from  Salt  Lake  City, 570 

View  of  Salt  Lake  City,  showing  Tabernacle, 571 

The  Co-operative  Store,      577 

George  A.  Smith,  First  Counsellor, 578 

Daniel  H.  Wells,  Second  Counsellor, 579 

The  Old  Mormon  Tabernacle, 580 

Mormon  Tithing  Store,  and  Office  of  Deseret  News, 585 

View  of  Brigham's  Canal,      587 

Polygamy  in  High  and  Low  Life, 589 

Driven  from  Home,      594 

Receiving  my  Friends  at  the  Walker  House, 59§ 

Reception  at  Salt  Lake  City, 599 

"Not  Afraid  of  the  Poland  Bill," 603 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    DAYS   OF   MY    CHILDHOOD.  — WHY   I    EVER  WAS   A 

MORMON. 

An  Important  Question.  —  Born  in  Mormonism.  —  Telling  my  own  Story. 
—  Joseph  Smith's  Mission.  —  He  Preaches  a  New  Dispensation. — 
My  Parents  Introduced  to  the  Reader.  —  The  Days  before  Polygamy. 
—  My  Mother's  Childhood.  —  Learning  under  Difficulties.  —  First 
Thoughts  of  Mormonism.  —  Received  into  the  Church.  —  Persecution 
for  the  Faith.  —  Forsaking  All  for  the  New  Religion.  —  First  Acquaint- 
ance with  the  Apostle  Brigham.  —  His  Ambitious  Intrigues.  —  His 
Poverty.  —  His  Mission-work.  —  Deceptive  Appearances.  —  My  Moth- 
er's Marriage.  —  A  Brief  Dream  of  Happiness.  —  That  sweet  word 
«  Home."  --  The  Prophet  Smith  turns  Banker.  —  The  "  Kirtland  Safety 
Society  Bank."  —  The  Prophet  and  Sidney  Rigdon  Flee.  —  A  Moment 
of  Hesitation.  —  Another  "  Zion  "  Appointed.  • —  Losing  All  for  the 
Church.  —  Privation  and  Distress.  —  Sidney  Rigdon  and  his  "  Declara- 
tion of  Independence."  —  He  Excites  an  Immense  Sensation.  —  Mobs 
Assemble,  and  Fights  Ensue.  —  Lively  Times  among  the  Saints.  — 
The  Outrages  of  the  Danites. 

URING  the  somewhat 
public  career  which  I 
have  led  since  my  apostasy 
from  the  Mormon  Church, 
I  have  often  been  asked 
why  I  ever  became  a 
Mormon.  Indeed,  I  have 
scarcely  entered  a  town 
where  this  question  has 
not  been  put  by  some  one, 
almost  on  the  instant  of 
my  arrival.  It  is  the  first 
query  of  the  newspaper 
reporter,  and  the  anxious  inquiry  of  the  clergymen,  who 
with  one  accord,  without  regard  to  creed  or  sect,  have  bid- 


32  AN    IMPORTANT    QUESTION. 

den  me  welcome  into  the  light  of  Christian  faith,  from  out 
the  dark  bondage  of  fanaticism  and  bigotry ;  and  I  have 
often  answered  it  at  the  hospitable  table  of  some  enter- 
tainer, who  has  kindly  given  me  shelter  during  a  lecture 
engagement. 

Curiosity,  interest,  desire  to  gratify  a  wondering  public 
by  some  personal  items  concerning  me,  are  the  different 
motives  which  prompt  the  question ;  but  surprise  is  almost 
without  exception  betrayed  when  I  tell  them  that  I  was  born 
in  the  faith.  Sometimes  I  think  that  the  people  of  the  out- 
side world  consider  it  impossible  that  a  person  can  be  born 
in  Mormonism  ;  they  regard  every  Mormon  as  a  deluded 
proselyte  to  a  false  faith. 

It  is  with  a  desire  to  impress  upon  the  world  what  Mor- 
monism really  is ;  to  show  the  pitiable  condition  of  its  wo- 
men, held  in  a  system  of  bondage  that  is  more  cruel  than 
African  slavery  ever  was,  since  it  claims  to  hold  body  and 
soul  alike  ;  to  arouse  compassion  for  its  children  and  youth, 
born  and  growing  up  in  an  atmosphere  of  social  impurity ; 
and,  above  all,  to  awaken  an  interest  in  the  hearts  of  the 
American  people  that  shall  at  length  deepen  into  indigna- 
tion, —  that  I  venture  to  undertake  the  task  of  writing  this 
book.  I  have  consecrated  myself  to  the  work,  not  merely 
for  my  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  all  the  unhappy  wo- 
men of  Utah,  who,  unlike  myself,  are  either  too  powerless 
or  too  timid  to  break  the  fetters  which  bind  them. 

I  intend  to  give  a  truthful  picture  of  Mormon  life  ;  to  veil 
nothing  which  should  be  revealed,  even  though  the  recital 
should  be  painful  to  me  at  times,  coming  so  close,  as  it  neces- 
sarily must,  to  my  inmost  life,  awakening  memories  which 
I  would  fain  permit  to  remain  slumbering,  and  opening  old 
wounds  which  I  had  fondly  hoped  were  healed.  Neither 
shall  I  intentionally  tinge  any  occurrence  with  the  slightest 
coloring  of  romance ;  the  real  is  so  vivid  and  so  strange 
that  I  need  have  no  recourse  to  the  imaginary. 

All  the  events  which  I  shall  relate  will  be  some  of  my 


BORN    IN    MORMONISM.  33 

own  personal  experiences,  or  the  experience  of  those  so 
closely  connected  with  me  that  they  have  fallen  directly 
under  my  observation,  and  for  whose  truth  I  can  vouch 
without  hesitation.  To  tell  the  story  as  it  ought  to  be  told, 
I  must  begin  at  the  very  beginning  of  my  life  ;  for  I  have 
always  been  so  closely  connected  with  these  people  that  I 
could  not  easily  take  up  the  narrative  at  any  intermediate 
point. 

I  was  born  at  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  on  the  I3th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1844,  and  was  the  youngest  child  and  only  surviving 
daughter  of  a  family  of  five  children. 

My  father  and  mother  were  most  devout  Mormons,  and 
were  among  the  very  earliest  of  Joseph  Smith's  converts. 
They  have,  indeed,  been  closely  identified  with  the  Church 
of  the  Latter-Day  Saints  almost  from  its  first  establish- 
ment. They  have  followed  it  in  all  its  wanderings,  have 
been  identified  with  its  every  movement,  and  their  fortunes 
have  risen  or  fallen  as  the  Church  has  been  prosperous  or 
distressed.  They  were  enthusiastic  adherents  of  Joseph 
Smith,  and  devoted  personal  friends  of  Brigham  Young, 
until  he,  by  his  own  treacherous  acts,  betrayed  their  friend- 
ship, and  himself  broke  every  link  that  had  united  them 
to  him,  even  that  of  religious  sympathy,  which  among  this 
people  is  the  most  difficult  to  sunder. 

My  father,  Chauncey  G.  Webb,  was  born  in  1812,  in 
Hanover,  Chatauqua  County,  N.  Y.  He  first  heard  the 
Mormon  doctrine  preached  in  1833,  only  a  very  short  time 
after  Joseph  Smith  had  given  the  Book  of  Mormon  to  the 
world,  and  had  announced  himself  as  another  Messiah, 
chosen  by  "  the  Lord  "  to  restore  true  religion  to  the  world, 
to  whom  also  had  been  revealed  all  the  glories  of  "the 
kingdom  "  that  should  yet  be  established  on  the  earth,  and 
over  which  he  was  to  be,  by  command  from  the  Lord,  both 
temporal  and  spiritual  ruler. 

They  —  the  old  folks  —  embraced  the  new  faith  imme- 
diately, and  prepared  for  removal  to  Kirtland,  Ohio,  which 
3 


34  THE    FIRST    RELIGION    OF       THE    SAINTS. 

was  to  be  the  nucleus  of  the  new  church,  the  "Zion"  given 
by  revelation  to  Joseph  Smith  as  the  gathering-place  of  the 
Saints.  They  were  naturally  anxious  to  gather  all  their  chil- 
dren into  the  fold,  and  they  urged  my  father,  with  tearful, 
prayerful  entreaties,  to  accompany  them  to  the  city  of  refuge 
prepared  for  the  faithful  followers  of  the  Lord  and  His 
prophet  Smith. 

Like  many  young  people,  he  had  at  that  time  but  little 
sympathy  with  religion.  He  had  given  but  very  little 
thought  to  the  peculiar  beliefs  of  the  different  churches. 
This  world  held  so  much  of  interest  to  him,  that  he  had 
considered  but  very  little  the  mysteries  of  the  future,  and 
the  world  to  come.  Of  a  practical,  and  even  to  some  ex- 
tent sceptical  turn  of  mind,  he  was  inclined  to  take  things 
as  they  came  to  him,  and  was  not  easily  influenced  by  the 
marvellous  or  supernatural.  If  left  to  himself,  he  might, 
probably,  never  have  embraced  Mormonism  ;  but  he  yielded 
to  the  entreaties  of  his  parents,  and  joined  the  Mormon 
Church  more  as  an  expression  of  filial  regard  than  of  deep 
religious  conviction.  The  Saints  were  at  that  time  an 
humble,  spiritual-minded,  God-fearing,  law-abiding  people, 
holding  their  new  belief  with  sincerity  and  enthusiasm, 
and  proving  their  position,  to  their  own  satisfaction  at  least, 
from  the  Bible.  They  had  not  then  developed  the  spirit 
of  intolerance  which  has  since  characterized  them,  and 
though  they  were  touched  with  religious  fanaticism,  they 
were  honest  in  their  very  bigotry.  The  Mormon  Church, 
in  its  earliest  days,  cannot  be  fairly  judged  by  the  Mormon 
Church  of  the  present  time,  which  retains  none  of  its  early 
simplicity,  and  which  seems  to  have  lost  sight  entirely  of 
the  fundamental  principles  on  which  it  was  built.  My 
father,  although  not  entering  fully  into  the  spirit  of  his 
new  religion  at  that  early  period  of  his  saintly  experience, 
yet  found  nothing  of  the  insincerity  which  he  claimed  to 
have  met  in  other  beliefs ;  and  having  embraced  the  new 
faith,  he  was  prepared  to  hold  to  it,  and  to  cast  his  lot  with 


MY    MOTHERS    CONVERSION.  35 

it.  So  he  went  with  his  parents  to  Kirtland,  in  1834,  where 
he  found  the  first  romance  of  his  life  in  the  person  of  Eliza 
Churchill,  my  mother,  then  a  young  girl  of  seventeen,  just 
blossoming  into  fairest  womanhood. 

Never  was  there  a  greater  mental  or  spiritual  contrast 
between  two  persons.  My  mother  was  a  religious  enthu- 
siast, almost  a  mystic.  She  believed  implicitly  in  personal 
revelation,  and  never  doubted  but  that  the  Mormon  faith 
came  directly  from  "the  Lord."  She  "saw  visions  and 
dreamed  dreams,"  and  at  times  it  would  have  taken  but 
little  persuasion  to  have  made  her  believe  herself  inspired. 
It  was  a  religious  nature  like  hers,  dreamy,  devoted,  and 
mystical,  that,  in  other  conditions  and  amid  other  sur- 
roundings, had  given  to  France  a  Joan  of  Arc.  It  must 
have  been  the  attraction  of  opposite  natures  that  brought 
together  in  so  close  a  relationship  the  practical,  shrewd, 
somewhat  sceptical  man,  and  the  devoted,  enthusiastic, 
religious  girl.  It  was  probably  the  very  contrast  that  made 
the  young  man  feel  such  tenderness  and  care  for  the  home- 
less orphan  girl,  and  made  her  cling  to  him,  trusting  her 
helplessness  to  his  strength. 

Her  early  life  had  by  no  means  been  so  sheltered  as  his, 
and  to  her  the  thought  of  tender  care  and  protecting  watch- 
fulness, through  all  the  rest  of  her  days,  was  unutterably 
sweet  and  restful.  If  her  dream  could  only  have  been 
realized  !  But  polygamy  cursed  her  life,  as  it  has  that  of 
every  Mormon  woman,  and  shattered  her  hopes  before  she 
had  but  a  taste  of  their  realization. 

She  was  born  at  Union  Springs,  Cayuga  County,  N.  Y., 
on  the  4th  of  May,  1817,  but  only  lived  there  until  she  was 
two  years  old,  when  her  parents  removed  to  Livingston 
County,  in  the  same  state.  When  she  was  four  years  old 
her  mother  died,  leaving  three  little  children,  the  youngest 
a  mere  baby.  Her  father,  finding  it  impossible  to  obtain 
any  one  to  take  care  of  the  three  as  they  should  be  cared 
for,  was  obliged,  much  against  his  will,  to  separate  them, 


36  HOW   THE    FIRST    CONVERTS    WERE    MADE. 

and  put  them  in  the  charge  of  different  persons,  until  such 
time  as  he  was  in  a  situation  to  make  a  home  for  them 
together.  But  that  was  destined  never  to  be,  and  these 
children  were  never  reunited,  although  they  have  never 
lost  sight  of  one  another ;  and  to  this  day  the  hearts  of  the 
Gentile  and  Mormon  sisters  yearn  towards  each  other,  and 
the  more  fortunate  one  suffers  in  sympathy  with  her  sister's 
sufferings. 

My  mother  was  given  into  the  care  of  a  family  of  the 
name  of  Brown,  with  whom  she  staid  twelve  years.  Her 
life  with  them  was  rendered  most  unhappy  by  the  treat- 
ment which  she  received,  and  from  lack  of  sympathy. 
Ambitious,  and  craving  knowledge  most  ardently,  she  was 
denied  all  means  of  procuring  a  proper  education,  and  was 
reduced  to  the  position  of  a  mere  drudge.  But  her  percep- 
tions were  keen,  her  memory  retentive,  and  in  spite  of  all 
drawbacks  she  managed  to  learn  something;  enough,  in- 
deed, to  lay  the  foundation  for  the  knowledge  which  she 
aftenvards  acquired,  and  which  stood  her  in  good  stead  as 
a  means  of  support  for  herself  and  her  children,  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Saints  in  Utah.  Whatever  came  in  her  way 
in  the  shape  of  reading-matter  she  eagerly  devoured, 
whether  it  was  the  torn  bit  of  an  old  newspaper,  the  inev- 
itable "Farmer's  Almanac,"  or  some  odd  volume  of  histo- 
ry, biography,  or  fiction,  which  had  found  its  way  mysteri- 
ously to  the  New  York  farm-house  of  other  days;  but 
above  all,  the  Bible  and  Methodist  hymn-books.  These 
she  had  read  and  re-read  until  she  could  repeat  large  por- 
tions of  them  from  memory.  Wesley's  beautiful  hymns, 
with  their  earnest,  fervid  tone,  were  her  special  favorites 
among  these  religious  songs,  and  her  young  heart  glowed 
as  she  listened  to  the  poetic  inspirations  of  Isaiah  and 
those  other  prophecies,  which  she  believed,  although  she 
could  not  understand. 

When  she  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  she  united  with  the 
Methodist  Church ;  and  it  was  while  she  was  in  the  first 


PREACHING    THE    NEW    RELIGION.  37 

flush  of  her  religious  experience  that  the  Mormon  mis- 
sionaries came  to  Avon,  the  town  in  which  she  lived, 
preaching  their  new  doctrines.  My  mother  had  very  nat- 
urally a  great  deal  of  curiosity  concerning  this  new  reli- 
gion, which  was  railed  at  as  a  delusion,  and  its  prophet 
and  founder,  Joseph  Smith,  who  was  called  a  hypocrite,  a 
false  teacher,  a  blasphemer,  and  every  other  opprobrious 
name  that  could  be  heaped  upon  him,  in  the  bitterness  of 
religious  persecution.  But  she  was  forbidden  to  attend 
their  meetings,  and  it  was  many  months  before  she  was 
able  to  listen  to  one  of  the  sermons.  During  this  time  she 
had  grown  somewhat  into  sympathy  with  these  people,  and 
had  come  to  feel  an  interest  in  them  greater  than  she 
would  have  felt  had  she  not  met  with  such  persistent,  and, 
what  seemed  to  her,  unreasonable  opposition  to  her  often 
expressed  wish  to  hear  them  and  judge  of  their  sincerity 
and  truth  for  herself. 


PREACHING  THE  NEW  RELIGION. 


After  a  time,  however,  she  found  an  opportunity  of  attend- 
ing a  two  days'  meeting,  without  the  knowledge  of  her 
friends ;  and  she  listened  eagerly  to  Joseph  Young  as  he 
expounded  the  new  doctrine  and  dwelt  upon  the  glories 
of  the  "  kingdom  "  which  was  to  be  speedily  set  up  upon 
the  earth.  Predisposed  as  she  already  was  in  its  favor,  it 


38  SUFFERING    FOR    THE    FAITH. 

is  not  strange  that  she  was  readily  convinced  of  its  divine 
origin,  and  accepted  it  at  once  as  the  true  religion.  Before 
the  meeting  was  over,  she  was  numbered  among  Elder  Jo- 
seph Young's  converts,  and  was  received  into  the  Mormon 
Church,  being  baptized  by  the  apostolic  hands  of  his  brother 
Brigham. 

When  it  became  known  that  she  had  become  a  convert 
to  the  obnoxious  faith,  she  was  the  object  of  bitter  persecu- 
tion. The  family  with  whom  she  lived  were  especially 
intolerant,  and  in  their  anger  resorted  to  every  expedient 
to  force  her  to  give  up  her  new  faith.  They  confined  her 
in  a  cellar  for  several  days,  kept  her  upon  bread  and  water, 
and  subjected  her  to  other  severities  of  a  like  nature.  All 
this  opposition  did  not  move  her  one  particle.  She  remained 
firm  in  her  chosen  faith,  and  was  steadfast  and  true  to  her 
convictions  of  right.  All  this  severity  of  treatment  she 
rather  gloried  in.  Was  it  not  worth  while  to  suffer  perse- 
cution, and  be  treated  with  contumely  and  contempt,  for 
the  sake  of  the  church  that  had  been  specially  called  by  the 
Lord  to  "  build  up  the  waste  places  of  Zion  "  ?  Would  not 
her  reward  be  the  greater  by  and  by  ?  So  filled  was  she 
with  the  new  enthusiasm  that  nothing  had  power  even  to 
render  her  unhappy  ;  as  she  says,  she  triumphed  in  perse- 
cution and  rejoiced  in  suffering. 

When  her  persecutors  found  that  neither  arguments  nor 
threats  could  move  her,  they  turned  her  out  of  doors,  con- 
sidering that  they  were  doing  only  their  duty,  since  it  would 
be  a  sin  to  harbor  a  Mormon.  The  thought  of  her  extreme 
youth  and  her  unprotected  situation  did  not  move  them  in 
the  slightest  degree.  Their  doors  were  shut  against  her, 
as  their  hearts  had  always  been. 

Instinctively  she  turned  towards  the  people  with  whom 
she  had  so  lately  connected  herself,  and  for  whose  sake 
she  had  left  home  and  friends ;  they  received  her  kindly 
and  hospitably,  and  she  went  with  them  to  Kirtland,  where 
my  father  found  her  when  he  arrived  a  few  months  later. 


WHAT    BRIGHAM   YOUNG    ONCE    WAS.  39 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  friendship  began  between  my 
mother  and  Brigham  Young,  which  lasted  so  many  years  — 
a  faithful  friendship  on  her  part,  met,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
by  unkindness  and  treachery  on  his  side.  At  that  time  he 
was  young  and  zealous,  and  seemingly  sincere.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  successful  of  the  early  Mormon  mission- 
aries, and  was  considered  specially  gifted.  He  was  an 
ardent  supporter  and  personal  friend  of  Joseph  Smith,  and 
young  as  he  was,  had  attained  a  high  position  in  the  Church 
of  the  Saints,  being  the  second  of  the  twelve  apostles,  all 
of  whom  were  chosen  by  the  Prophet  Smith  himself. 

Some  have  considered  that  his  zeal  was  assumed,  and 
that  beyond  the  ambition  of  attaining  a  high  position  he 
had  no  personal  regard  for  Mormonism.  It  is  believed  by 
many  of  the  old  Mormons  that  he  always  entertained  the 
hope  of  becoming  Joseph's  successor,  and  standing  at  the 
head  of  the  church.  He  has  no  natural  religious  nature ; 
indeed,  he  is  at  times  a  positive  sceptic.  He  has  made  the 
church  a  stepping-stone  to  temporal  prosperity,  and  the 
Mormon  people  have  been  the  pliant  tools  with  which  he 
has  carved  his  fortune. 

In  those  days  he  was  struggling  with  poverty,  going  on 
missions,  as  the  apostles  of  old  were  commanded  to  do,  and 
as  all  these  new  apostles  did,  in  their  first  days  of  apostle- 
ship,  "  without  purse  or  scrip ; "  and  to  my  mother  the 
"Apostle"  Brigham  was  invested  with  all  the  attributes 
which  belong  to  an  earnest  nature,  intensified  by  deep  reli- 
gious faith.  In  short,  he  was,  as  she  regarded  him,  a 
creature  of  her  imagination,  and  utterly  unlike  his  real  self 
as  she  came  at  length  to  know  him. 

The  year  following  my  father's  arrival  in  Kirtland,  and 
his  first  meeting  with  my  mother,  they  were  married.  The 
first  few  months  of  their  married  life  were  peculiarly  happy, 
and  they  prospered  beyond  their  most  sanguine  expecta- 
tions. My  father  was  a  wheelwright  by  trade,  and  directly 
on  reaching  Kirtland  built  a  wagon  manufactory,  and 


40    JOSEPH  SMITH:  "PROPHET,  SEER,  AND  REVELATOR." 

started  in  business  for  himself.  He  was  eminently  suc- 
cessful in  his  undertaking,  and  made  money  sufficiently 
fast  to  suit  his  own  ideas  and  ambitions.  He  built  a  cosy 
little  house,  and  carried  my  mother  to  it  ;  and  there,  for 
the  first  time  since  she  was  a  little  child,  she  knew  what 
it  was  to  have  a  home  —  a  genuine  home  !  not  a  mere  rest- 
ing-place, where  she  felt  herself  an  intruder,  but  a  place  in 
which  she  was  mistress,  over  which  love  and  she  held 
absolute  and  undisputed  sway. 

It  was  during  that  happy  period,  the  only  happy  time  in 
her  whole  life,  that  she  fitted  herself  to  teach.  She  was 
an  indefatigable  student,  and  she  made  the  most  and  the 
best  of  her  time.  At  that  time  she  studied  to  satisfy 
her  intense  craving  for  knowledge,  and  as  a  pleasant  recre- 
ation, with  no  thought  that  she  might  some  day  have  to 
turn  her  studies  to  practical  account.  She  had  not  then 
been  introduced  to  the  doctrine  of  "  plural  wives,"  and  its 
attendant  "glories,"  which,  being  defined,  meant  miseries 
and  torture.  And  the  definition  has  never  been  altered, 
and  never  will  be,  until  women's  natures  are  most  rad- 
ically changed. 

As  I  said  before,  my  father 
was  prospering  in  worldly  af- 
fairs, and  when  it  was  "re- 
vealed "  to  Joseph  Smith  that 
in  addition  to  the  profession 
of  "  Prophet,"  he  should  add 
that  of  banker,  he  assisted 
Smith  in  founding  the  "  Kirt- 
land  Safety  Society  Bank/* 
by  promising  to  deposit  all 
his  money  therein  ;  in  short, 


sessed  outside  of  his  house 
and  shop  towards  completing  the  amount  necessary  for  a 
capital  on  which  to  start  the  new  enterprise.  When  the 


THE  BANK  FAILS,  AND  THE   PROPHET   FLEES.    4! 

bank  failed,  which  it  did  very  shortly  after  its  estab- 
lishment, my  father,  of  course,  lost  every  cent  which  he 
had  invested.  He  was  intensely  disgusted  with  the  whole 
proceeding,  which,  if  it  had  happened  in  the  Gentile 
world,  would  have  been  termed  swindling,  and  Smith 
would  not  have  been  easily  let  off  by  the  mere  calling  of 
names.  Many  Gentiles,  who  had  suffered  by  the  failure, 
were  not  so  lenient  as  Smith's  followers,  and  demanded 
that  the  Prophet  should  answer  to  the  complaint  of  swin- 
dling before  the  United  States  court.  But,  as  usual,  he 
eluded  the  officers  of  justice,  and  all  attempts  to  arrest  him 
were  unavailing. 

The  poor  Saints,  although  losing,  many  of  them,  all 
their  hard-earned  savings,  were  still  loyal  to  their  leader, 
and  excused  him  on  the  ground  that  "  he  had  lost  the  Spirit " 
for  the  time,  and  the  revelation  was  not  of  divine  origin ; 
although  he  was  unconscious  of  that  fact,  and  received  it 
in  good  faith.  My  father,  however,  not  so  ready  to  excuse 
what  seemed  to  him  an  act  of  premeditated  dishonesty,  and 
having  very  little  faith  in  "revelation"  at  any  time,  was 
very  bitter  in  his  denunciations  ;  and  it  was  only  by  my  moth- 
er's influence,  who  still  clung  fondly  to  her  faith,  that  he 
did  not  then  renounce  Mormonism.  Although  she  has 
never  openly  acknowledged  it,  I  think  that  my  mother  has 
since  often  regretted  her  steadfast  adherence  to  the  church 
at  that  time.  Her  loyalty  and  persistence  brought  upon  her 
the  unhappiness  of  her  life,  and  finally  plunged  her  into 
such  utter  misery  as  only  polygamous  wives  can  experi- 
ence. Her  religion,  that  was  to  be  so  much  to  her,  brought 
her  not  one  ray  of  comfort,  but  in  after  years  blighted  her 
domestic  life,  and  laid  upon  her  a  cross  almost  too  heavy 
to  be  borne.  But  I  must  do  her  the  justice  to  say,  that 
through  it  all  she  has  never  complained,  but  has  endured 
her  sufferings  in  silence,  and  met  her  woes  with  patience. 

This  unfortunate  revelation  of  the  Prophet's,  together  with 
other  somewhat  questionable  business  transactions,  and  the 


consequent  growing  prejudice  of  the  people  of  Ohio  against 
him  and  his  followers,  made  it  necessary  for  the  Saints  to 
seek  some  other  place,  where  they  might  build  their  "  Zion." 
It  was  certain  that  the  Lord  did  not  favor  Ohio  ;  and  about 
that  time  he  "  revealed "  to  Joseph  that  the  place  he  had 
selected  in  which  to  establish  His  temporal  kingdom  was 
Missouri.  This  was  to  be  the  Mormon  Canaan,  the  land 
which  they  —  the  chosen  people  of  the  Lord  —  should  enter 
and  possess.  To  be  sure,  He  had  revealed  the  very  same 
thing  concerning  Kirtland ;  it  was  there  that  he  declared 
"  He  had  established  His  name  for  the  salvation  of  the  na- 
tions." But  according  to  the  Prophet's  later  explanation, 
Satan  was  striving  to  break  up  the  kingdom,  and  the  spirit 
of  "  apostate  mobocracy "  raged  and  grew  hotter,  until 
Smith  and  his  confederate,  Sidney  Rigdon,  were  obliged 
"to  flee  from  its  deadly  influence,  as  did  the  apostles  and 
prophets  of  old ; "  and  "  as  Jesus  had  commanded  his  fol- 
lowers, when  persecuted  in  one  city,  to  flee  to  another,"  so 
these  two  worthies  left  the  "  chosen  city  of  the  Lord  "  most 
unceremoniously,  under  cover  of  darkness,  pursued  by  of- 
ficers of  the  law,  and  never  returned  to  it  again.  But  from 
Missouri  Smith  sent  messages  and  exhortations  to  those  of 
the  Saints  who  still  remained  faithful,  "to  gather  quickly 
to  Zion." 

Very  many  members  of  the  church  apostatized  at  that 
time,  and  the  numbers  of  the  faithful  "chosen"  were  decid- 
edly lessened.  Among  those  who  remained  unshaken  was 
my  mother,  who  in  her  almost  fanatical  blindness,  accepted 
the  Prophet's  explanations,  and  was  still  willing  to  be  led 
by  his  revelations.  My  father  was  held  by  his  affection  for 
her  rather  than  by  any  conviction  of  the  "  divine  leading  " 
of  Smith,  whom,  indeed,  he  distrusted  almost  entirely  ;  and  it 
was  in  compliance  with  my  mother's  ardent  wish  to  follow 
her  prophet,  and  to  establish  herself  and  family  in  Zion 
amidst  the  Saints,  that  my  father  finally  decided  to  em- 
igrate with  the  remnant  of  the  church  to  Missouri. 


SUFFERINGS    OF    THE    PERSECUED    SAINTS.  43 

He  settled  in  Daviess  County,  about  thirty  miles  from  Far- 
West,  where  the  body  of  the  Saints  were  located,  and  was 
again  tasting  the  sweets  of  prosperity  and  domestic  comfort, 
when  the  Missouri  war  broke  out,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
remove  his  family,  in  the  greatest  haste,  to  Far- West  for 
their  safety,  leaving  house  and  property  to  be  confiscated 
by  an  angry  mob. 

This  was  the  second  time,  since  casting  his  lot  with  the 
Saints,  that  all  my  father's  possessions  had  been  suddenly 
swept  away,  and  this  last  would  have  discourged  him  sadly 
had  it  not  made  him  so  indignant  to  see  the  injustice  which 
was  shown  by  Gentiles  to  the  Mormons ;  and  he  assisted 
in  guarding  the  lives  of  the  Mormon  people,  and  the  remant 
of  property  which  was  left  to  them,  until  such  time  as 
they  could  find  another  home. 

During  this  time  my  mother's  sufferings  were  intense. 
Many  of  the  houses  had  been  burned  by  mobs,  and  she, 
and  many  other  women  in  as  severe  straits  as  herself,  were 
compelled  to  live  as  best  they  could,  exposed  to  the  wind 
and  rain,  and  without  any  proper  shelter,  during  almost  the 
entire  winter,  with  two  little  children,  one  a  baby  only  a 
few  months  old,  the  other  about  two  years  old.  In  addition 
to  all  the  discomforts  of  the  situation,  she  was  always  in 
constant  terror  of  an  attack  by  the  infuriated  mobs,  who 
were  waging  a  genuine  war  of  extermination  with  the  suf- 
fering Saints.  As  is  always  the  case  with  a  religious  war, 
the  feeling  was  intensely  bitter.  The  Gentiles  had  no  char- 
ity for  the  Mormons,  and  would  neither  tolerate  their  faith 
nor  them.  The  Mormons  returned  the  hatred  of  the  Gen- 
tiles with  interest,  and  considering  themselves  the  chosen 
of  the  Lord,  selected  by  Him  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the  rest 
of  the  world,  of  course  argued  that  whatever  they  did  could 
by  no  possibility  be  wrong,  and  they  returned  their  ill-treat- 
ment with  interest. 

Although  there  had  been,  always,  a  strong  prejudice 
against  the  Mormons  in  Missouri,  as  in  other  states  where 


44 

they  had  lived,  it  was  not  until  after  Sidney  Rigdon  made 
his  famous  incendiary  speech,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
foundation  of  the  new  Temple  at  Far-West,  on  the  4th  of 
July,  1838,  that  the  feeling  broke  into  anything  like  aggres- 
sive hostilities. 

Rigdon  had  embraced  Mormonism  in  1830,  and  had 
been  ever  since  that  time  an  ardent  Saint.  He  was  a 
Campbellite  preacher  in  Ohio  at  the  time  of  his  conversion, 
which  was  accomplished  under  the  teachings  of  Parley  P. 
Pratt,  a  man  who  played  quite  an  important  part  in  the 
early  Mormon  history.  Rigdon  was  a  very  fluent  speaker, 
much  revered  by  the  Saints  on  account  of  his  eloquence, 
which,  it  must  be  confessed,  was  decidedly  of  the  "bun- 
combe "  order.  For  a  long  time  he  was  the  intimate  friend 
and  chief  counsellor  of  Joseph  Smith,  was  connected  with 
him  in  the  Kirtland  Bank  swindle,  and  escaped  with  him 
to  Missouri. 

It  had  been  revealed  to  the  Prophet  Smith  that  another 
temple  must  be  built  to  the  Lord  in  the  new  Zion,  since  the 
one  at  Kirtland  had  been  desecrated  by  falling  into  Gentile 
hands,  and  Rigdon  was  chosen  to  make  the  speech  on  the 
occasion  of  laying  the  first  foundation-stone  of  this  sacred 
edifice. 

The  "  Champion  of  Liberty,"  as  Rigdon  was  called  by 
his  admirers,  was  more  bombastic  and  more  denunciatory 
than  usual.  He  surpassed  himself  in  invective,  and  mad- 
dened the  already  prejudiced  Missourians,  who  were  only 
waiting  for  some  excuse  to  quarrel  with  their  unwelcome 
neighbors.  Among  other  absurd  things,  he  said  : 

"We  take  God  and  all  the  holy  angels  to  witness,  that 
we  warn  all  men  to  come  on  us  no  more  for  ever.  The 
man  or  set  of  men  that  attempts  it,  does  so  at  the  expense 
of  their  lives.  The  mob  that  comes  to  disturb  us  we  will 
follow  until  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  is  spilled,  or  else 
they  will  have  to  exterminate  us.  We  will  carry  the  war 
into  their  own  homes  and  families.  No  man  shall  come  into 


GREAT   EXCITEMENT   AMONG    THE    SAINTS.  45 

our  streets  to  threaten  us  with  mobs ;  if  he  does,  he  shall 
atone  for  it  before  he  leaves  the  place.  We  this  day  pro- 
claim ourselves  free,  with  a  purpose  and  determination  that 
can  never  be  broken.  No,  never !  No,  never ! !  No, 
never ! ! !  " 

This  speech  fired  the  excitable  nature  of  the  Saints,  and 
they  were  aroused  to  a  high  pitch  of  warlike  enthusiasm. 
Already,  in  imagination,  they  saw  Missouri  conquered,  and 
the  church  in  possession  of  the  entire  state.  There  could 
be  no  doubt  of  the  final  result,  for  this  was  the  Promised 
Land  into  which  they  had  been  led  by  the  hand  of  the 
Lord. 

With  the  superstition  which  characterizes  this  people, 
they  turned  every  accident  or  occurrence  into  some  sign 
from  Heaven,  and  it  was  always  interpreted  to  promise  suc- 
cess to  them  and  confusion  to  their  enemies.  On  this  day 
of  celebration  the  Mormons  had  erected  a  liberty-pole  in 
honor  of  the  occasion  ;  in  the  afternoon  it  was  struck  by 
lightning,  shivered  to  atoms,  and  fell,  its  flag  trailing  in  the 
dust.  There  was  rejoicing  among  the  Mormons ;  that  was 
certainly  an  omen  of  the  speedy  downfall  of  their  enemies. 
It  seems  now  as  though  —  if  it  must  be  considered  an  omen 
of  anything  —  that  it  was  prophetic  of  the  uprooting  and 
scattering  of  this  people,  so  soon  was  it  followed  by  their 
expulsion  from  the  state. 

The  feeling  of  bitterness  between  the  two  contending 
factions  grew  more  intense  daily,  and  each  party  was 
eagerly  watching  for  some  acts  of  violence  from  the  other. 
The  next  month,  at  the  election,  the  war  commenced  in 
earnest.  A  man  named  William  Peniston  was  candidate 
for  the  legislature.  The  Mormons  objected  to  him  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  headed  a  mob  against  them  in  Clay 
County.  The  Missourians,  aware  of  this  objection,  en- 
deavored to  prevent  the  Mormons  from  voting,  and  a  fight 
ensued,  in  which  the  latter  proclaimed  themselves  victo- 
rious. Gallatin,  the  court  town  of  Daviess  County,  was  soon 


46 


THE    NIGHT    OF    TERROR. 


after  burned  by  the  Mormons.  Then  commenced  robbing, 
plundering,  and  outrages  of  every  kind  by  both  parties.  It 
was  a  season  of  the  wildest  confusion,  and  both  sides  were, 
blinded  with  passion,  and  lost  sight  of  reason,  toleration, 
and,  above  all,  Christian  forbearance.  It  was  a  positive 
reign  of  terror.  Houses,  barns,  and  haystacks  were  burned, 
men  shot,  and  all  manner  of  depredations  committed. 


THK  NIGHT  OF  TERROR. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  say  which  party  was  the  prin- 
cipal aggressor ;  probably  there  was  equal  blame  on  both 
sides  ;  but  I  have  been  informed  that  Joseph  taught  his  fol- 
lowers that  it  was  right,  and  "  commanded  of  the  Lord,"  for 
them  to  take  anything  they  could  find  which  belonged 
to  their  enemies,  in  retaliation  for  the  wrongs  which  they 
had  suffered  at  their  hands.  I  can  the  more  easily  believe 
this  to  be  true,  because  the  spirit  of  the  Mormon  Church 
has  always  been  that  of  retaliation.  The  stern  old  Mosaic 
law,  "An  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,"  is  in  full 
force  among  them,  and  is  not  only  advised  by  the  leaders, 
but  insisted  upon  by  them.  Indeed,  they  have  added  to  its 
seventy,  until  now  it  stands,  "A  life  for  an  offence,  real  or 


THE    DANITE    BAND    ORGANIZED.  47 

suspected,  of  any  kind."  In  support  of  this  they  refer  to 
the  Israelites  "  borrowing  "  jewelry  from  the  Egyptians  be- 
fore they  took  their  flight  from  Egypt ;  and  they  quote, 
"The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness  thereof;  "  and  as 
they  claim  to  be  the  Lord's  particularly  favored  children,  — 
in  fact,  his  only  acknowledged  ones,  — they  seem  to  con- 
sider this  text  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  situation,  and  all 
the  excuse  they  need  to  give  for  any  irregularities  in  the 
way  of  appropriating  other  people's  property.  They  are 
merely  coming  into  their  inheritance. 

At  all  events,  the  people  were  not  slow  to  obey  the  com- 
mand of  the  Lord  and  the  counsel  of  Joseph,  and  they  dis- 
played their  spirit  of  obedience  by  laying  hold  of  every  kind 
of  property  which  came  within  their  reach.  In  the  midst 
of  these  troubles,  Joseph  came  out  to  Daviess  County  to  a 
town  called  "  Adam-ondi-Ahman"  named,  of  course,  by 
revelation,  and  meaning,  when  translated,  "The  valley  of 
God  in  which  Adam  blessed  his  children ; "  said  to  be  the 
identical  spot  where  Adam  and  Eve  first  sought  refuge  after 
their  expulsion  from  Eden.  Upon  his  arrival,  he  called  the 
people  together,  and  harangued  them  after  this  mild  and 
conciliatory  fashion  :  "  Go  ahead  !  Do  all  you  can  to  harass 
the  enemy.  I  never  felt  more  of  the  spirit  of  God  at  any 
time  than  since  we  commenced  this  stealing  and  house- 
burning."  My  parents  were  living  at  Adam-ondi-Ahman  at 
that  time,  and  were  present  when  Joseph  delivered  this 
peculiarly  saint-like  address. 

About  this  time  the  Danite  bands  were  first  organized, 
for  the  purpose  of  plundering  and  harassing  the  people  of 
the  surrounding  country.  I  have  been  told  this  by  a  person 
who  heard  the  oaths  administered  at  a  meeting  of  the  band 
in  Daviess  County.  They  were  instructed  to  go  out  on  the 
borders  of  the  Settlements,  and  take  the  spoils  from  the 
"ungodly  Gentiles  ;  "  for  was  it  not  written,  "The riches  of 
the  Gentiles  shall  be  consecrated  to  the  people  of  the  house 
of  Israel?" 


48  THE    PROPHET    SMITH   TAKEN   PRISONER. 

Joseph  Smith  always  denied  that  he  had  in  any  way  au- 
thorized the  formation  of  the  Danite  bands ;  and,  in  fact,  in 
public  he  repeatedly  repudiated  both  them  and  their  deeds 
of  violence.  At  the  time  of  which  I  speak,  however, 
Thomas  B.  Marsh,  who  was  then  the  president  of  the 
"twelve  apostles,"  together  with  Orson  Hyde,  who  now 
occupies  that  post,  apostatized.  Both  subsequently  returned 
to  the  bosom  of  the  church,  making  the  most  abject  sub- 
mission. Poor  Marsh  died,  crushed  and  broken-hearted. 
Hyde's  heart  was  of  tougher  composition,  and  he  still  lives  ; 
but  Brigham  will  never  forget  or  forgive  his  apostasy. 

While  both  Marsh  and  Hyde  were  separated  from  the 
church,  they  made  solemn  affidavits  against  Joseph  and  the 
Mormons  in  general,  accusing  them  of  the  grossest  crimes 
and  outrages,  as  well  as  of  abetting  the  Danites  and  their 
deeds.  The  cowardly  Apostles  afterwards  declared  that 
these  affidavits  were  made  under  the  influence  of  fear. 
That  is  very  probable,  but  at  the  same  time  there  can  be  no 
real  doubt  that  there  was  a  larger  amount  of  truth  in  what 
they  affirmed  than  jealous  Mormons  would  be  disposed  to 
admit. 

The  outrages  committed  by  these  Danites,  and  others 
like  them,  caused  the  expulsion  of  the  Saints  from  Missouri. 
Joseph  and  about  fifty  of  his  followers  were  taken  prisoners, 
and  between  his  arrest  and  imprisonment,  and  the  final 
exodus  from  the  state,  there  was  great  suffering  among  the 
Mormon  people. 


CHAPTER  II. 


FOUNDING    THE    NEW    RELIGION.  — ASSASSINATION   OF 
JOSEPH    SMITH. 

The  Saints  expelled  from  Missouri.  —  They  cross  the  Mississippi  into 
Illinois.  —  Forming  a  New  Settlement.  —  Arrival  in  Quincy.  — A  Kind 
Reception.  —  The  City  of  "  Nauvoo  "  Founded.  —  A  New  Temple  Be- 
gun. —  Great  Success  of  the  Foreign  Missions.  —  The  Saints  flock 
from.  Europe.  —  Thousands  assemble  in  Nauvoo.  —  The  Prophet  Jo- 
seph applies  for  a  City  Charter.  —  Nauvoo  Incorporated.  —  The  Saints 
Petition  the  National  Government.  —  The  Prophet  visits  Washington. 
—  His  Interview  with  President  Van  Buren.  —  He  coquets  with  Poli- 
tics. —  He  Stands  on  the  Edge  of  the  Precipice.  —  The  Saints  in  Dan- 
ger. —  The  Prophet  Smith  Nominated  for  President.  —  He  tries  to  find 
the  "  Golden  Way."  —  Mormon  Missionaries  preach  Politics.  — The 
Prophet  looks  towards  the  Pacific  Coast.  —  The  Blind  Obedience  of 
the  Saints.  —  The  Real  Devotion  of  their  Faith.  —  Gentile  Opinions. — 
How  Boggs  was  shot  in  the  Head.  —  The  Spiritual  Wife-Doctrine.  — 
Dr.  William  Law  Protests.  —  Terrible  Charges  against  the  Prophet.  — 
The  " Nauvoo  Expositor"  —  The  Prophet  Surrenders.  —  He  is  Mur- 
dered in  Jail. 

FTER  this,  crime  succeeded 
crime,  and  the  state  of  affairs 
grew  worse  daily.  The  Mor- 
mons were  getting  decidedly  the 
worst  of  the  warfare,  and  their 
opponents  showed  them  no 
mercy.  At  the  massacre  at 
Haun's  Mills,  for  instance,  men, 
women,  and  children  were  shot 
down  in  cold  blood  by  a  com- 
pany of  the  Missouri  militia, 
the  houses  plundered  and 
burned,  and  the  clothing  even 
stripped  from  the  dead  bodies. 

There  had  been  inhuman  murders  in  other  places,  men 
4 


NAUVOO  TEMPLE. 


5O  THE    SAINTS    EXPELLED    FROM    MISSOURI. 

and  women  alike  falling  victims  to  the  fury  of  the  mobs ; 
there  had  been  a  battle  fought  at  Crooked  River,  and  sev- 
eral skirmishes  between  the  Mormons  and  Missourians, 
exaggerated  reports  of  which  had  spread  through  the  coun- 
try like  wildfire.  The  whole  state  was  in  arms  against  the 
Mormons.  The  governor  issued  an  order  of  expulsion, 
thinking  it  the  surest  way  to  quell  the  disturbance,  which 
had  almost  grown  beyond  him,  and  gave  the  Saints  three 
months  in  which  to  leave  the  state.  Every  Mormon  was 
to  be  out  of  the  state  at  the  end  of  that  time,  except  those 
who  were  in  prison.  Of  them  the  governor  said,  "Their 
fate  is  fixed ;  the  die  is  cast ;  their  doom  is  sealed." 

As  on  the  occasion  of  the  removal  from  Ohio,  there  was 
considerable  apostasy  in  the  church.  Many  persons  grew 
discouraged,  and  their  faith  wavered.  In  following  Smith 
they  had  been  led  from  difficulty  into  danger,  had  suffered 
persecution  and  poverty,  and  were  now  driven  from  their 
homes  to  seek  refuge  in  some  more  hospitable  spot.  Every 
man's  hand  seemed  turned  against  them,  and  they  had 
grown  tired  of  perpetual  warfare.  If  God  had  ever,  called, 
He  had  surely  deserted  them  now,  and  there  was  no  use  in 
their  longer  undergoing  trial  and  suffering. 

Those  who  remained  firm  were  still  strong  in  the  faith ; 
stronger,  if  possible,  than  ever.  Joseph  was  their  Prophet, 
and  they  clung  to  him  and  his  revelations  with  unshaken 
confidence.  "Blessed  are  they  who  are  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake,"  was  a  favorite  and  comforting  quota- 
tion at  that  time.  They  were  cheered  by  frequent  letters 
from  Joseph,  written  in  prison,  as  they  journeyed  towards 
Illinois,  which  was  the  next  point  towards  which  they  turned 
their  feet,  already  weary  with  wandering.  On  receiving 
the  order  of  expulsion,  the  Saints  pledged  themselves  never 
to  cease  their  exertions  until  every  one  of  their  faith  was 
out  of  the  state ;  and  to  accomplish  this  within  the  time 
required,  they  worked  unceasingly,  through  sickness,  pov- 
erty, and  privation. 


CRUEL  PERSECUTION  OF  THE  HELPLESS.       51 

My  mother  has  often  described  to  me  this  enforced  jour- 
ney. She  was  always  deeply  moved,  and  never  spoke  of 
it  that  the  hot  tears  did  not  rush  to  her  eyes,  and  her  voice 
quiver  with  indignation.  The  journey  was  taken  in  the 
dead  of  winter.  Many  of  the  women  and  children  were 
already  ill  from  exposure,  yet  they  were  obliged  to  leave 
the  state  with  the  rest ;  and  although  everything  was  done 
for  their  comfort  that  could  well  be  done,  yet  their  suffer- 
ings were  most  intense.  They  were  robbed  of  their  horses, 
and  were  obliged  to  make  their  escape  with  ox-teams,  cross- 
ing those  twenty-mile  prairies,  facing  cold,  wintry  winds 
without  even  a  cover  to  the  wagons.  My  mother  held  her 
two  infants  close  in  her  arms  during  all  the  long,  tedious 
journey,  to  keep  them  from  perishing.  She  had  but  one 
dress  to  wear,  as  she  had  to  leave  Daviess  County  in  great 
haste,  taking  only  her  children  with  her ;  and  on  her  arrival 
in  Illinois  she  was  entirely  destitute,  her  clothing  being  lit- 
erally torn  in  pieces.  In  the  spring  of  1839  a^  were  safely 
landed  across  the  Mississippi  River,  where  they  were  joined 
in  April,  soon  after  their  arrival,  by  Joseph  and  his  fellow- 
prisoners,  who  had  *  miraculously,"  as  Joseph  said,  made 
their  escape  from  their  enemies. 

The  joy  of  the  Saints  was  very  great  at  his  arrival.  The 
waning  courage  was  restored,  wavering  faith  was  strength- 
ened, and  they  were  all  ready  to  enter  the  next  scheme 
which  his  prophetic  soul  should  propose,  and  to  follow 
blindly  and  unquestioningly  the  next  "revelation." 

The  feeling  of  the  Mormon  people  towards  the  Missou- 
rians  is  very  bitter  to  this  day,  and  they  have  never  lost  an 
opportunity  in  all  these  years  of  injuring  them  whenever  it 
became  possible.  The  memory  of  the  indignities  heaped 
upon  them,  and  the  sufferings  to  which  they  were  subjected, 
is  still  most  vivid.  Even  my  mother,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  of  her  having  apostatized,  and  having  now  no  interest 
or  faith  in  the  Mormon  Church,  can  never  forgive  the  Mis- 
sourians.  She  says,  "  If  the  Mormons  were  the  greatest 


52  STEALING    WOOD    TO   MAKE    COFFINS  ! 

fanatics  on  the  earth,  the  Missourians  cannot  be  justified  in 
the  course  which  they  pursued.  There  is  no  doubt  they 
were  exasperated  by  the  actions  of  the  Mormons,  and  suf- 
fered loss  of  property,  and  even  life,  at  the  hands  of  the 
Danite  bands ;  but  they  need  not,  in  the  cruel  spirit  of  re- 
venge, punish  the  innocent  women  and  children,  for  it  was 
on  these  that  the  blow  fell  the  hardest.  It  was  they,  who 
had  no  part  in  bringing  on  the  trouble,  who  were  to  suffer 
in  retribution  for  the  misdeeds  of  others." 

Notwithstanding  all  that  had  taken  place  in  Missouri, 
some  of  the  more  enthusiastic  Saints  believed  that  it  was  the 
promised  land,  and  that  some  time  they  should  come  in  and 
possess  it.  Indeed,  that  belief  has  prevailed  among  some 
of  the  older  Mormons  until  within  a  very  short  time.  Brig- 
ham  has  preached  it  and  promised  it ;  but  now  he  says  very 
little  about  it,  and  when  he  does  he  is  wise  to  add,  "  if  the 
Lord  shall  will  it  so."  The  present  indications  are,  that  the 
Lord  will  not  "  will  it  so,"  and  all  the  Saints  have  content- 
edly accepted  Utah  as  "Zion,"  in  the  face  of  "revelation." 

In  giving,  thus  briefly,  a  sketch  of  the  "Missouri  war,"  I 
tell  the  story  as  I  have  always  heard  it,  since  I  was  a  child, 
from  my  parents,  who  were  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  who 
were  rendered  homeless  and  poor  by  it.  Although  always 
hearing  it  from  the  Mormon  side,  I  must,  to  do  the  narra- 
tors justice,  say  they  have  never  attempted  to  hide  any  part 
of  the  provocation  which  the  Saints  gave ;  and  they  now 
hold  Joseph  responsible  for  it,  by  his,  to  say  the  least,  unwise 
teachings. 

It  is  not  very  long  since  I  was  talking  with  a  person  who 
was  with  the  Mormons  in  Missouri  and  Illinois.  He  said 
that  Joseph  not  only  advised  his  people  publicly  to  plunder 
from  the  Gentiles,  but  privately  ordered  them  to  do  so.  At 
one  time  he  was  himself  sent  by  the  Prophet  to  steal  lum- 
ber for  coffins.  He  went  with  a  party  of  men  down  the 
river,  loaded  a  raft  with  lumber  from  a  Gentile  saw-mill, 
and  brought  it  up  to  the  "  City  of  the  Saints."  Another  man, 


STEAL    FIRST    AND    PRAY   AFTER  !  53 

now  a  bishop  in  the  Mormon  Church,  told  my  mother  that 
he  was  deputed  by  Joseph  to  go  and  take  some  cattle,  and 
^drive  them  to  the  city.  As  he  was  entering  the  town  on 
his  return  from  his  successful  marauding  trip,  he  was  called 
into  a  house,  where  there  were  sick  persons,  to  anoint  and 
pray  for  them  in  connection  with  another  elder.  On  meet- 
ing this  elder  afterwards,  he  remarked,  "I  have  often  won- 
dered that  the  Lord  listened  to  our  prayers  in  behalf  of  the 
sick  under  such  circumstances.  The  elder  replied,  quietly, 
"  /  had  not  been  stealing." 

Had  such  teachings  been  given  by  the  Gentiles,  and  fol- 
lowed by  their  people,  it  would  have  been  sin.  But  with  the 
Mormons  it  was  always  "  the  will  of  the  Lord,"  and  in  His 
name  they  committed  the  crimes  that  produced  disaster  and 
disgrace  among  the  people  of  Missouri,  and  finally  resulted 
in  their  own  expulsion  from  that  state.  Thus  it  was  that 
at  length  we  find  them  driven  out  by  violence  from  among 
a  people  who  at  first  had  received  them  with  the  utmost 
friendliness,  and  forced  to  seek  refuge  on  the  farther  shore 
of  the  Mississippi,  despite  the  promise  which  Joseph  had  so 
often  given  them,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  that  Missouri 
should  be  the  abiding-place  of  the  Saints. 

Joseph,  however,  still  continued  to  assert  that  the  Saints 
*  should  return  again  and  build  up  the  waste  places  of 
Zion,"  and  pointed  out  Missouri  as  the  spot  which  was  to 
be  the  "  central  stake "  from  which  he  was  eventually  to 
rule  all  America ;  but  the  fact  remained  that  the  people 
must  have  homes  until  such  good  time  as  they  might  be 
allowed  to  "come  again  to  their  own." 

They  had  landed  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  and  had  been  very 
kindly  received  by  the  residents.  On  their  arrival  they  at 
once  commenced  searching  for  a  place  to  settle,  and  build 
another  "  stake ; "  and  the  place  finally  selected  by  the 
Prophet  was  situated  on  the  Mississippi  River,  about  forty 
miles  from  Qiiincy.  It  was  first  called  Commerce ;  but  this 
name  being  considered  altogether  too  matter-of-fact  and 


54  HOW   NAUVOO,    THE    NEW    ZION,    WAS    BUILT. 

practical,  it  was  named,  by  inspiration,  NAUVOO,  which, 
being  translated  from  the  "Reformed  Egyptian,  "  —  the  lan- 
guage in  which  all  revelations  were  first  given,  —  means 
"The  Beautiful." 

The  new  city  grew  rapidly ;  another  Temple  was  com- 
menced by  command  of  the  Lord,  and  the  people  were 
adjured  not  to  cease  work  upon  it  until  it  was  finished ;  all 
the  Saints  were  commanded  to  gather  there  as  soon  as  it 
was  practicable.  Missionaries  were  sent  to  Europe,  and 
converts  flocked  from  thence  to  Zion.  Never  were  missions 
crowned  with  greater  success  than  those  that  were  estab- 
lished in  Europe  by  the  Mormon  Church.  The  elders  went 
first  to  England,  from  there  to  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark, 
Switzerland,  France,  and  they  even  attempted  Italy,  but 
with  so  little  success  that  the  mission  there  was  speedily 
abandoned.  Indeed,  the  southern  countries  of  Europe  did 
not  seem  to  have  taken  kindly  to  the  new  doctrine  of  the 
Saints,  and  evinced  but  slight  interest  in  the  establishment 
of  a  "spiritual  kingdom  on  the  earth,"  and  paid  no  heed 
whatever  to  Joseph's  revelations.  But  hundreds  of  con- 
verts were  made  among  the  English  and  Scandinavian 
people,  and  they  all  evinced  a  strong  desire  to  "gather  to 
Zion,"  and  considered  no  sacrifice  too  great  to  be  made  to 
facilitate  their  emigration.  Most  of  them  were  from  the 
poorer  classes,  but  some  among  them  were  persons  of 
considerable  wealth,  and  many  were  from  the  comfortable 
middle  class  of  farmers  and  trades  people. 

The  people  of  Illinois  were  inclined  to  be  very  friendly 
with  the  Mormon  people,  and  to  make  up  by  sympathy  and 
kindness  for  the  treatment  which  the  Saints  had  received  in 
Missouri.  But,  as  has  invariably  been  the  case,  the  Mor- 
mons, by  their  own  acts,  managed  to  turn  these  friends  into 
enemies,  and  to  embroil  themselves  in  more  quarrels. 

The  people  in  the  surrounding  towns  found  them  trouble- 
some, and  most  undesirable  neighbors ;  for  in  spite  of  their 
kindly  reception,  Joseph  did  not  cease  his  injunctions  to 


HARD-HEARTED    FOLKS    AT    WASHINGTON.  55 

"get  all  you  can  from  the  wicked  Gentiles,"  and  the  conse- 
quence was  perpetual  trouble  and  constant  complaint. 

Early  on  his  arrival  at  Nauvoo,  Joseph  applied  to  the 
Illinois  legislature  for  a  city  charter,  which  was  granted  at 
once.  This  charter  was  extremely  liberal,  and  by  its  am- 
biguous wording  deceived  the  legislature,  they  considering 
it  straightforward  and  honorable,  while  really  it  gave  Joseph 
unlimited  power  in  the  government  of  the  city,  without  regard 
to  state  or  national  laws,  and  rendered  it  impossible  that  he 
could  be  held  prisoner,  even  if  arrested.  He  had  the  right 
to  release  himself:  the  charter  provided  for  that. 

Before  the  establishment  of  the  city  it  was  "  revealed  "  to 
Joseph  that  his  people  must  importune  at  the  feet  of  all  in 
authority  for  a  redress  of  their  wrongs  in  Missouri.  They 
commenced  with  the  justices  of  the  peace  ;  from  them  they 
went  to  the  state  officers ;  finally  to  the  President  himself. 
They  prepared  very  carefully,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  very 
accurately,  a  statement  of  the  losses  of  the  Saints  in  Mis- 
souri, and  Joseph  Smith,  Sidney  Rigdon,  and  Elias  Higbee 
went  to  Washington  with  it,  to  endeavor  to  seek  redress 
through  the  agency  of  Congress. 

Martin  Van  Buren,  who  was  President  at  that  time,  re- 
ceived them  with  that  peculiar  suavity  of  manner  for  which 
he  was  specially  noted,  that  impressiveness  which  expressed 
so  much  and  meant  so  little,  and  listened  to  them  with  the 
most  courteous  patience.  But  his  answer  was  :  "  Gentlemen, 
your  cause  is  just,  but  I  can  do  nothing  for  you."  The 
party  returned  to  Nauvoo  disappointed,  but  in  no  wise  dis- 
couraged, and  exceedingly  indignant  with  the  government 
and  the  entire  American  people,  whom  they  considered 
their  enemies  from  that  moment.  From  the  lowest  officer 
to  the  highest,  they  considered  that  they  had  failed  to  meet 
with  the  slightest  sympathy,  and  there  was  no  desire  shown 
to  make  any  amends  to  these  people.  Joseph  and  the  elders 
indulged  in  more  incendiary  talk  than  ever ;  but  this  was 
now  devoted  entirely  against  the  government. 


"  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,"  prophesied 
Joseph,  "unless  the  United  States  redress  the  wrongs  com- 
mitted upon  the  Saints  in  Missouri,  in  a  few  years  the  gov- 
ernment will  be  entirely  overthrown."  And  again  :  "They 
all  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  our  entreaties,  and  now  the  Lord 
will  come  out  in  swift  fury  and  vex  the  nation." 

The  troubles  in  Illinois  culminated,  as  they  had  in  Mis- 
souri, in  political  difficulties.  The  people  of  Illinois  were 
growing  exceedingly  tired  of  their  new  citizens,  whom  they 
had  welcomed  so  warmly,  since  their  kindness  had  been 
returned  with  so  much  ingratitude  by  the  Mormons ;  but 
the  political  leaders  of  the  state  endeavored  to  curry  favor 
with  Joseph,  and  obtain  his  influence,  since  it  had  been  dis- 
covered that  the  Mormon  vote  was  solid.  Whigs  and  Dem- 
ocrats had  each  tried  to  secure  them,  but  Smith  had  his 
own  purpose  to  serve,  and  he  used  either  Whigs  or  Demo- 
crats as  best  suited  him.  Neither  party  could  rely  on  him 
or  his  promises,  and  consequently  both  became  exceedingly 
hostile  towards  him,  and  were  equally  zealous  in  endeavor- 
ing to  limit  his  power.  He  was,  indeed,  rendered  perfectly 
independent  of  the  state  laws  by  the  charter  which  the  gov- 
ernor so  readily  signed,  without  being  aware  what  a  blun- 
der he  was  committing ;  and  the  exertions  of  the  Illinoi- 
sians  were  directed  towards  getting  this  charter  repealed. 
Anti-Mormon  organizations  were  formed  for  the  purpose 
of  inducing  the  legislature  to  cancel  the  charter,  disband 
the  Nauvoo  Legion,  a  military  organization,  of  which  Jo- 
seph was  commander-in-chief,  and,  if  possible,  to  eventually 
get  rid  of  the  Mormons  altogether.  The  feeling  ran  quite  as 
high  as  it  had  done  in  Missouri,  although  there  were  no  such 
deeds  of  violence  as  that  state  witnessed.  It  remained,  for 
some  time  at  least,  a  political  rather  than  a  personal  warfare, 
and  Joseph  seemed  for  many  months  to  maintain  his  position 
in  spite  of  every  exertion  of  his  enemies ;  and,  in  fact,  got 
decidedly  the  best  of  them  in  every  way. 

Joseph's  political  career  was,  to  say  the  least,  an  intricate 


THE  PROPHET  NOMINATED  FOR  PRESIDENT.      57 

and  an  ambitious  one.  He  aimed  at  the  very  highest  posi- 
tion which  the  country  could  give  him.  He  inaugurated  a 
legislature  at  Nauvoo,  in  opposition  to  that  of  the  state ;  but 
he  took  good  care  that  it  should  be  kept  from  the  know- 
ledge of  all  persons  outside  of  the  city,  and  this  same  legis- 
lature did,  in  its  way,  the  most  remarkable  work.  One  of 
its  acts  was  to  nominate  Joseph  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States. 

Clay  and  Calhoun  were  at  that  time  rival  candidates  for 
the  Presidency,  and  Joseph  wrote  to  both  of  them,  asking 
them  what  course  they  would  pursue  towards  tho  Mormons 
in  case  they  were  elected.  Neither  of  them  answered  in  a 
manner  to  please  him ;  they  were  altogether  too  indefinite, 
refusing  in  any  way  to  commit  themselves  to  the  Mormon 
cause ;  and  he  gave  them  both  a  severe  castigation,  and 
withdrew  his  support  and  countenance  from  both  parties ; 
and  with  him,  of  course,  went  the  whole  body  of  the  Mor- 
mons. 

He  published  his  own  views  on  the  national  policy  in  a 
pamphlet,  and  announced  himself  as  Presidential  Candidate. 
His  followers  confidently  believed  that  he  would  be  elected. 
They  had  no  idea  that  he  could  fail  to  attain  whatever  he 
attempted.  Missionaries  were  sent  all  over  the  United 
States,  proselyting  and  electioneering,  and  the  Saints  cer- 
tainly worked  faithfully  to  further  their  Prophet's  ambition. 

In  the  legislative  assembly  he  had  those  friends  and  allies 
in  training  who  were  to  form  his  cabinet  when  he  should 
reach  the  White  House.  Of  this  assembly,  Brigham  Young 
was  an  important,  active,  and  favorite  member,  and  Joseph 
prophesied  wonderful  things  of  him.  It  is  said  that  he  even 
named  him  as  his  successor  as  leader  of  the  Mormon 
people.  But  I  think  that  that  story  is  a  little  more  than 
doubtful. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  seeking  after  political  influence, 
Joseph  Smith  must,  I  think,  have  had  some  idea  of  the 
hopelessness  of  it  all,  and  some  presentiment  at  least  that  his 


58  "THE  LORD'S  FINGER"  POINTS  WEST! 

failure  must  be  followed  by  another  exodus  of  the  Mormon 
people,  for  as  early  as  1842  he  began  to  talk  of  the  superior 
advantages  of  the  Pacific  valley  as  a  settlement,  and  the 
"  Lord's  finger "  seemed  turning  slowly  but  surely  in  that 
direction,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  Prophet  sent  a 
company  of  men  to  explore  that,  then,  almost  unknown 
country,  and  not  long  after  he  began  prophesying  that  in 
five  years'  time  the  Saints  would  be  located  "  away  from  the 
influence  of  mobs." 

The  Saints,  as  usual,  received  the  prediction  in  good 
faith,  and  were  ready  to  follow  him  wherever  he  should 
lead,  notwithstanding  that  doing  so  meant  giving  up  home, 
and  property,  and  becoming  poor,  exiled  wanderers.  The 
devotion  of  this  deluded,  persecuted  people  to  their  false 
Prophet  was  almost  sublime..  In  answer  to  his  "Leave  all 
and  follow  me,"  came  the  self-sacrificing  words,  "  Whither 
thou  goest  we  will  go ;  thy  God  shall  be  our  God." 

Mistaken,  deceived,  deluded  as  they  were,  the  great  body 
of  this  people  deserve  some  charitable  regard,  since  they 
obeyed  the  dictates  of  their  consciences,  and  were  willing  to 
suffer  martyrdom  for  their  religion.  The  great  body  of 
them  are  not  answerable  for  most  of  the  crimes  committed  by 
the  command  of  the  leaders,  since  they  were  ignorant  of 
them,  and  their  hatred  of  the  Gentiles  is  not  so  greatly  to  be 
wondered  at,  since  they  suffered  the  persecution  without 
even  knowing  that  there  was  the  slightest  cause  for  it,  ex- 
cept their  objectionable  belief.  I  feel  that  I  must  pay  this 
tribute  to  the  Mormon  people.  Naturally,  they  were  a  law- 
abiding,  peace-loving,  intensely  religious  people ;  their 
peculiar  natures,  touched  a  little  with  fanaticism,  having 
that  mental  organization  that  not  only  accepts  the  super- 
natural, but  demands  it,  made  it  the  more  easy  for  them  to 
become  the  victims  of  a  man  like  Joseph  Smith. 

The  belief  that  they  were  the  very  chosen  of  God ;  that 
He  revealed  Himself  to  them  through  their  Prophet ;  that  He 
took  special  note  of  their  in-comings  and  out-goings  ;  that  He 


THE    REAL    INNER   LIFE    OF   THE    SAINTS.  59 

led  their  way  in  ah  their  wanderings,  sometimes  in  thorny 
paths,  sometimes  through  pleasant  places,  —  made  them  pos- 
itively heroic  in  their  devotion.  I  hold  that  their  earnestness 
and  singleness  of  purpose  ought  to  win  them  a  certain  de- 
gree of  respect,  mingled  with  the  intensest  pity  that  they 
could  become  the  dupes  of  such  unscrupulous,  overbearing, 
unprincipled  men  as  their  leaders  have  proved  themselves 
to  be.  They  have  been  blinded  by  fanaticism,  and  led  by 
false  representations.  Kept  in  a  community  by  themselves, 
forbidden  any  intercourse  with  the  outside  world,  they 
have  known  nothing  outside  of  Mormonism  except  what 
their  rulers  have  chosen  to  tell  them,  and  that  has  never 
been  the  truth.  They  have  believed  that  every  man's  hand 
was  against  them  ;  that  they  were  literally  "  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake ; "  and  they  have  been  taught  that  the 
Lord  commanded  them  to  hate  all  persons  not  of  their  belief, 
and  that  it  was  an  act  pleasing  to  Him  whenever  a  Gentile 
was  put  out  of  the  way.  Without  being  murderers  at  heart, 
they  have  been  taught  that  murder  is  a  part  of  their  religion, 
a  vital  portion  of  their  worship.  I  shall  explain  that  belief 
more  fully  presently,  when  I  come  to  speak  of  the  "  Blood- 
Atonement." 

The  Gentiles  have  had  very  little  opportunity,  until  lately, 
of  mingling  at  all  with  this  people ;  and  they  have,  quite  as 
naturally  on  their  part,  judged  the  Mormons  to  be  a  blood- 
thirsty, cruel,  dishonest,  and  licentious  people,  who  not  only 
did  not  merit  toleration,  even,  but  ought,  indeed,  to  be  ut- 
terly exterminated.  No  good  could  possibly  come  out  of 
Nazareth,  they  thought;  and  a  person  avowing  himself  a 
Mormon  has  not  been  so  much  an  object  of  hatred  as  of 
loathing  and  contempt. 

Mind  you,  I  am  not  upholding  the  Mormon  faith ;  I  con- 
sider it  the  falsest,  most  hypocritical,  and  most  cruel  belief 
under  the  sun.  Although  its  founder  arrogated  to  it  the 
title  of  the  "  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,"  there  is  nothing  Christ- 
like  in  its  teachings  or  in  its  practice.  Its  leaders  always 


60  POOR    BOGGS    IS    SHOT   IN   THE    HEAD. 

have  been,  and  still  are,  supremely  selfish,  caring  only  for 
their  personal  aggrandizement,  disloyal  to  the  government 
under  which  they  live,  treacherous  to  their  friends,  revenge- 
ful to  their  foes ;  insincere,  believing  nothing  which  they 
teach,  and  tyrannical  and  grasping  in  the  extreme,  taking 
everything  that  their  lustful  eyes  may  desire,  and  greedy, 
grasping  hands  can  clutch,  no  matter  at  whose  expense  it 
may  be  taken,  or  what  suffering  the  appropriation  may 
cause.  But  the  people  themselves  have  no  part  in  the 
treachery,  revengefulness,  hypocrisy,  or  cupidity  of  their 
leaders,  and  should  be  judged  from  an  entirely  different 
standpoint. 

In  1842  Governor  Boggs,  of  Missouri,  was  shot  at  and 
wounded  severely  in  the  head.  This  act  was  suspected  to 
have  been  done  at  the  instigation  of  Joseph,  and  the  feeling 
against  him  grew  stronger  than  ever.  It  was  with  consid- 
erable difficulty  that  his  followers  prevented  his  seizure  and 
forcible  abduction  into  Missouri.  He  was  very  nearly  in 
the  power  of  his  enemies  several  times  ;  but  the  devices  of 
the  Missourians  were  nothing  compared  to  the  wiles  and 
cunning  of  the  crafty  Prophet  and  his  officers.  The  gov- 
ernor of  Illinois  attempted  to  arrest  him,  but  found  the 
warrant  of  apprehension  set  aside  by  the  charter  which  he 
himself  had  signed.  In  fact,  it  was  found  that  the  law  was 
powerless  to  touch  the  Prophet,  and  he  could  afford  to  set  it 
at  defiance.  With  that  charter  to  uphold  him,  and  the 
"Nauvoo  Legion  "  to  defend  him,  he,  for  a  time,  completely 
baffled  his  enemies. 

About  this  time  an  added  reason  was  found  for  hating  and 
dreading  the  Mormon  people  and  their  influence.  The 
"  Spiritual-Wife  "  doctrine  was  hinted  at  just  at  this  juncture, 
and  this  created  even  a  greater  disturbance  than  the  political 
difficulties  had  done,  since  this  caused  a  large  apostasy,  and 
divided  the  church  against  itself.  The  accusations  that 
some  of  the  apostates  brought  against  Smith  were  dam- 
aging in  the  extreme. 


THE  DOCTOR'S  WIFE  MAKES  AN  UGLY  "  REVELATION."   61 

One  of  his  chief  accusers  was  a  man  named  William 
Law,  who  had  been  his  earnest  friend  and  one  of  his  coun- 
sellors. The  Prophet  had  had  no  stancher  friend  or 
warmer  defender  than  Law,  and  he  was  also  highly  es- 
teemed by  all  the  Mormon  people,  as  well  as  by  Smith  him- 
self. He  strongly  disapproved  of  some  of  Joseph's  acts, 
and  finally  felt  obliged  to  withdraw  from  him  altogether. 

After  his  apostasy,  he,  with  some  other  disaffected  Mor- 
mons, among  whom  were  his  brother,  Wilson  Law,  Dr. 
Forster, William  Marks,  and  the  Higbee  brothers,  all  men  of 
standing  and  influence  among  the  Saints,  commenced  to  hold 
meetings  in  a  grove  on  Sundays.  This  grove  was  a  mile 
from  the  place  where  the  Mormons  held  their  regular  ser- 
vices ;  yet  parties  of  the  Saints  were  accustomed  to  go  to  the 
other  meeting  to  hear  what  was  said  and  report  to  the 
Prophet.  So  he  was  kept  well  informed  of  the  movements  of 
the  apostates,  and  their  attitude  towards  him  and  the  church. 

At  one  of  these  meetings,  William  Law  electrified  and  al- 
most stunned  his  listeners  by  testifying  that  the  Prophet  had 
made  dishonorable  proposals  to  his  wife,  Mrs.  Law,  making 
the  request  under  cover  of  his  asserted  "  Revelation,"  that  the 
Lord  had  commanded  that  he  should  take  spiritual  wives, 
to  add  to  his  glory.  He  also  stated  that  Smith  made  his 
visit  to  his  wife  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  when  he  knew 
her  husband  to  be  absent.  Mrs.  Law  was  present,  and  her 
husband  called  upon  her  to  testify  as  to  whether  he  had 
made  the  statement  correctly.  She  corroborated  all  that 
he  had  said,  and  added  that  Joseph  had  asked  her  to  give 
him  half  her  love  ;  she  was  at  liberty  to  keep  the  other  half 
for  her  husband. 

The  Higbees  testified,  at  the  same  meeting,  to  having 
frequently  seen  Joseph's  horse  standing  for  a  long  time  be- 
fore the  door  of  certain  improper  resorts.  This  statement 
was  certainly  untrue,  and  was  probably  made  under  a  mis- 
take. The  greatest  excitement  prevailed  after  this  meeting, 
and  the  feeling  ran  very  high  between  the  contending  fac- 


62 


THE 


COMES    TO    GRIEF. 


tions  of  the  church.  Joseph  and  his  adherents,  on  their 
part,  charged  some  of  the  apostates  with  gross  immorality, 
and  they  retaliated  by  saying  they  had  only  followed  the 
teachings  of  Smith.  Criminations  and  recriminations  were" 
hurled  furiously  at  each  other  by  the  two  parties. 


BURNING  OF  THE  NEWSPAPER  OFFICE. 


Law  and  some  of  his  associates  started  a  paper  called 
the  "Nauvoo  Expositor,"  which  they  intended  to  devote  to 
the  criticism  of  Smith's  policy,  and  the  denunciation  of  his 
character.  As  may  be  imagined,  it  was  not  a  very  long- 
lived  sheet,  only  one  number  being  issued.  Enraged  by  its 
plain  speech,  Joseph  and  some  of  his  followers  destroyed 
the  building,  broke  the  machinery,  and  threw  away  the 
type,  in  their  strenuous  endeavors  to  suppress  "the  freedom 
of  the  press." 

Affairs  had  reached  such  a  crisis,  that  to  allay  the  ex- 
citement and  to  explain  some  of  his  "peculiar"  moral  weak- 
nesses, the  Prophet  found  it  necessary  to  produce  the  famous 
"Revelation,"  giving  the  most  unbridled  license  to  all  the 
worst  passions  of  their  nature.  This  "  Revelation  "  was  in- 
tended to  silence  the  noisy  clamorings  of  the  Saints  ;  for  who 


HOW  "CELESTIAL  MARRIAGE"  WAS  INVENTED.       63 

of  them  would  venture  to  question  the  convincing  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord." 

It  was  only  given  to  the  faithful  in  Zion.  Its  existence 
was  denied  loudly,  if  in  any  way  a  whisper  of  it  reached 
the  outside  world,  and  the  missionaries  were  cautioned  to 
keep  utter  silence  upon  the  subject.  Among  the  Saints  it 
was  received  most  reluctantly.  The  women,  especially, 
felt  that  a  cross  was  being  laid  upon  them  greater  than  they 
could  bear,  and  many  openly  rebelled.  They  felt  that  some 
great  trouble  was  come  upon  them,  but  they  did  not 
then  know  the  intense  bitterness  of  it,  nor  what  the  moral 
results  would  be.  The  majority  of  them  did  not  believe 
that  they  would  suffer  personally  from  it ;  but,  alas  !  they 
little  knew  how  easy  it  would  be  to  convince  a  man  that 
positive  wrong  would  become  moral  right,  when  all  legal 
restrictions  were  removed,  or  when  the  conscience  could  be 
so  easily  soothed  by  the  opiate  of  "  Revelation." 

Joseph's  career,  after  producing  his  "  Celestial  Marriage  " 
cheat,  and  palming  it  off  on  his  followers  with  the  blas- 
phemous "Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  was  very  short.  He  was 
induced  to  surrender  himself  to  the  authorities,  and  with  his 
brother  Hyrum,  the  Apostle  John  Taylor,  and  the  Apostle 
Willard  Richards,  was  placed  in  the  Carthage  jail. 

It  was  feared  by  the  Mormons,  and  by  some  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, that  attempts  would  be  made  to  massacre  him  in  prison  ; 
but  Governor  Ford,  under  whose  protection  he  was,  seemed 
to  apprehend  no  danger,  and  placed  no  extra  guards  about 
the  prison.  He  himself  went  from  Carthage  to  Nauvoo,  to 
see  personally  into  the  condition  of  affairs  there,  and  also  to 
assert  his  authority,  but  took  no  measures  for  a  redoubled 
care  and  watch  over  the  prisoners.  While  he  was  away  the 
jail  was  attacked,  and  the  Prophet  and  his  brother  Hyrum 
assassinated.  Their  companions  escaped  with  wounds. 

The  history  of  Joseph  Smith  is  one  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble on  record.  From  an  ignorant,  superstitious  farmer's 
boy,  he  became  M  Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator,"  founder 


64 


DEATH  OF  THE  PROPHET  SMITH. 


of  a  new  religion,  which  was  to  make  his  name  known,  not 
only  in  his  own  country,  but  over  the  world ;  made  by  "  Di- 
vine appointment"  "  God's  Vicegerent  upon  the  earth,  and 
Religious  Dictator  to  the  whole  world."  So  much  for  his 
spiritual  titles.  He  was  no  less  fortunate  in  earthly  honors  ; 
being  President  of  the  "  Council  of  Fifty,"  chief  of  the  legis- 
lature of  Nauvoo,  and  Mayor  of  the  city ;  and  at  last  he 
aspired  to  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States —  a  position, 
it  is  needless  to  say,  which  he  did  not  attain. 


ASSASSINATION  OF  JOSEPH  SMITH  AND  HIS  BROTHER  HYRUM. 

It  is  safe  to  believe  that  no  one  man  can  wear  all  these 
w  honors  "  without  growing  somewhat  dizzy  under  them  ;  and 
it  is  no  wonder  that  the  Prophet  Smith  overreached  himself 
at  last,  and  fell  a  victim  to  his  overweening  ambition  and 
stupendous  self-esteem,  which  probably  made  him  believe 
that  he  could  accomplish  impossibilities. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  "  REVELATION  ON  CELESTIAL  MARRIAGE."  — TROU- 
BLE AMONG  THE  SAINTS. 

The  Announcement  of  Polygamy.  —  "  Celestial  Marriage."  —  Joseph  "  sets 
himself  Right."  —  Mrs.  Smith  is  very  Rebellious.  —  Mrs.  Smith's 
Adopted  Daughter.  —  The  Prophet  too  fond  of  Fanny.  —  Mrs.  Smith 
takes  her  in  Hand.  —  Marital  Storms.  —  Oliver  Cowdery  called  In.  — 
He  goes  and  "Does  Likewise."  —  Joseph  first  Preaches  Polygamy. — 
The  Saints  Rebel.  —  The  Revelation  given  in  Secret.  —  Eleven  "  Adopt- 
ed Daughters"  sealed  to  the  Prophet.  —  A  Domestic  Squall  in  the 
Prophet's  House. —  Nancy  Rigdon  Insulted  by  Joseph.  —  Sidney's 
Zeal  Grows  Cold.  —  How  Celestial  Marriage  was  Introduced.  —  Mr. 
Noble  begins  to  Build  Up  his  Kingdom.  —  The  first  Plural  Marriage. — 
False  Position  of  the  Second  Wife.  — John  C.  Bennett.  —  His  Profligacy 
and  Crimes.  —  He  Apostatizes  and  Writes  a  Book. — Joseph  Defends 
Himself.  —  Apostasy  of  an  Apostle's  Wife.  —  The  Prophet  in  Diffi- 
culties. —  The  Revelation  on  "  Celestial  Marriage." 

FTER  the  Revelation  on 
Celestial  Marriage  was 
publicly  announced,  in 
1852,  it  was  stated  that 
Joseph  Smith  first  pro- 
duced it  in  1843  ;  but  there 
were,  no  doubt,  hints  of 
this  new  doctrine  at  a 
much  earlier  date.  It  is 
generally  believed,  and  in 
fact  well  known  by  many 
of  the  old  Nauvoo  Mor- 
mons, that  he  had  it  in 
contemplation  at  a  much 
earlier  date ;  certain  in- 
discretions rendering  it  necessary  that  he  should  find  an 
excuse  of  some  kind  for  acts  that  were  scarcely  consistent 
5 


EMMA  SMITH,  *'  THE  ELECT  LADY. 


66  THE  PROPHET'S  "  PATERNAL  "  AFFECTION  ! 

with  his  position  as  "  Vicegerent  upon  earth,"  and  set  him- 
self right,  not  only  with  his  followers,  but  with  Mrs.  Emma 
Smith,  his  wife,  who  objected  very  decidedly  to  some  of  his 
prophetic  eccentricities. 

Mrs.  Smith  had  an  adopted  daughter,  a  very  pretty, 
pleasing  young  girl,  about  seventeen  years  old.  She  was 
extremely  fond  of  her ;  no  own  mother  could  be  more  de- 
voted, and  their  affection  for  each  other  was  a  constant 
object  of  remark,  so  absorbing  and  genuine  did  it  seem. 
Consequently  it  was  with  a  shocked  surprise  that  the  people 
heard  that  sister  Emma  had  turned  Fanny  out  of  the  house 
in  the  night. 

This  sudden  movement  was  incomprehensible,  since 
Emma  was  known  to  be  a  just  woman,  not  given  to  freaks 
or  caprices,  and  it  was  felt  that  she  certainly  must  have  had 
some  very  good  reason  for  her  action.  By  degrees  it  be- 
came whispered  about  that  Joseph's  love  for  his .  adopted 
daughter  was  by  no  means  a  paternal  affection,  and  his 
wife,  discovering  the  fact,  at  once  took  measures  to  place 
the  girl  beyond  his  reach.  Angered  at  finding  the  two  per- 
sons whom  most  she  loved  playing  such  a  treacherous  part 
towards  her,  she  by  no  means  spared  her  reproaches,  and, 
finally,  the  storm  became  so  furious,  that  Joseph  was  obliged 
to  send,  at  midnight,  for  Oliver  Cowdery,  his  scribe,  to  come 
and  endeavor  to  settle  matters  between  them.  For  once  he 
was  at  his  wits'  end ;  he  could  face  an  angry  mob,  but  a 
wronged  woman  made  a  coward  of  him  at  once. 

The  scribe  was  a  worthy  servant  of  his  master.  He  was 
at  that  time  residing  with  a  certain  young  woman,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  had  a  wife  living.  He  had  taken  kindly 
to  Joseph's  teachings,  although  he  by  no  means  coveted 
publicity  in  the  affair ;  and  after  seeing  Mrs.  Smith's  indig- 
nation he  dreaded  exceedingly  lest  Mrs.  Cowdery  should 
discover  that  he  was  practising  his  new  religious  duties 
with  another  woman. 

The  worthy  couple  —  the  Prophet  and  his  scribe  —  were 


REBELS.  67 

sorely  perplexed  what  to  do  with  the  girl,  since  Emma  re- 
fused decidedly  to  allow  her  to  remain  in  her  house ;  but 
after  some  consultation,  my  mother  offered  to  take  her  until 
she  could  be  sent  to  her  relatives.  Although  her  parents 
were  living,  they  considered  it  the  highest  honor  to  have 
their  daughter  adopted  into  the  Prophet's  family,  and  her 
mother  has  always  claimed  that  she  was  sealed  to  Joseph  at 
that  time. 

^The_firsJt  .public  announcement  Joseph  ever  made  of  his 
belief  in  the  plurality  of  wives  was  at  Nauvoo,  in  1840.  In 
a  sermon  one  Sunday  he  declared  that  it  was  perfectly  right 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  for  a  man  to  have  as  many  wives 
as  he  pleased,  if  he  could  evade  the  laws  of  the  land. 
Said  he : 

"  People  of  polygamous  nations  will  be  converted  to  the 
church,  and  will  desire  to  gather  with  the  Saints  to  Zion ; 
and  what  will  they  do  with  their  wives?  We  must  have 
polygamy  among  us  as  an  established  institution,  and  then 
they  can  bring  all  their  wives  with  them." 

He  referred  to  the  Bible  to  sustain  his  position,  and  grew 
very  eloquent  on  the  subject.  He  seemed  determined  not 
only  to  maintain  the  doctrine  to  his  own  satisfaction,  but  to 
convince  his  people  of  its  truth  and  its  desirability. 

As  may  readily  be  imagined,  it  caused  the  greatest  excite- 
ment and  indignation  in  the  church ;  and  many  threatened 
to  abandon  the  faith.  The  women  most  especially  were 
aroused,  and  they  declared  they  never  would  accept  a  doc- 
trine so  hateful.  It  was  the  first  open  rebellion  against  any 
of  the  Prophet's  teachings  by  his  most  devoted  followers, 
and  he  was  wise  enough  to  see  his  mistake,  and  to  rectify 
it.  Evidently,  as  he  said  to  certain  followers,  it  was  "  too 
soon  for  the  Lord  to  reveal  Himself  upon  this  subject." 

The  following  Sabbath  he  arose,  and  said  he  wished  to 
retract  what  he  had  said  the  Sabbath  before;  he  was  at 
that  time  only  trying  the  Saints,  to  see  what  they  could  bear. 

The  Revelation  at  first  was  made  known  only  to  a  few  of 


68      ELEVEN   "  ADOPTED    DAUGHTERS  "  OF    THE    PROPHET. 

Joseph's  most  intimate  friends,  and  they  were  solemnly 
bound  to  keep  its  existence  a  secret ;  but  in  some  way  it 
became  known  very  generally  that  there  was  such  a  Revela- 
tion, although  it  was  not  given  to  the  world  until  1852.  It 
is  on  this  ground  that  Smith's  sons  endeavor  to  palm  the 
Revelation  on  to  Brigham,  and  deny  that  their  father  ever 
intended  to  have  polygamy  become  a  church  institution. 
The  elder  Mormons,  who  were  at  Nauvoo,  among  whom 
are  my  parents,  know  better  than  this,  however,  and  also 
know  the  exact  time  when  the  "  Revelation  "  was  first  talked 
of.  If  Smith  was  not  a  polygamist,  his  sons  must  allow  that 
he  was  a  libertine,  or  an  advocate  of  free-love  principles. 
It  makes  little  difference  which ;  the  results  are  the  same. 

The  wife  of  the  Prophet  took  no  more  kindly  to  this  new 
doctrine  of  Celestial  Marriage  than  did  the  rest  of  the 
Mormon  women,  and  no  woman  of  them  all  allowed  her 
objections  to  become  so  widely  known  as  Mrs.  Smith.  She 
knew  her  husband's  nature  too  well  to  believe  in  the  Divine 
origin  of  the  system,  and  she  fought  it  persistently  during 
his  lifetime. 

At  one  time  he  had  eleven  young  ladies  living  in  his 
family  as  adopted  daughters,  to  whom  he  had  been  sealed 
without  the  knowledge  of  his  wife.  She  for  some  time  sup- 
posed that  his  object  in  having  them  there  was  purely  a 
charitable  one.  To  be  sure,  some  of  them  had  parents  liv- 
ing ;  yet  there  was  some  plausible  reason  always  given  for 
having  them  under  his  roof,  which  none  of  the  Saints  dared 
to  question,  although  many  of  them,  especially  those  who 
were  growing  disaffected,  were  dissatisfied  with  his  reasons, 
and  suspicious  of  his  motives.  Very  little  was  said  about 
it  openly,  until  his  wife  saw  something  which  aroused  her 
suspicions,  and  she  remonstrated  with  Joseph  for  having 
the  girls  there  ;  but  with  no  effect.  The  girls  should  remain 
—  on  that  point  he  was  decided. 

Unlike  many  of  the  Mormon  women,  Mrs.  Smith  was  not 
one  to  accept  a  cross  of  this  kind  submissively.  She  by  no 


MRS.    EMMA   HAS    A   WILL    OF    HER    OWN. 


means  bowed  her  head,  broke  her  heart,  and  silenced  her 
lips,  and  allowed  her  husband  to  pursue  his  licentious  course 
without  opposition.  When  Joseph  would  not  send  away 
the  girls,  she  said  very  quietly,  but  with  a  determination 
which  showed  she  was  making  no  idle  threat,  — 

w  Either  those  girls  leave 
this  house  to-night,  or  I 
do." 

"Very  well,"  replied  her 
husband,  in  a  passion  at 
having  his  authority  ques- 
tioned ;  w  you  may  go,  then, 
for  I  intend  them  to  stay." 

Without  another  word 
she  left  the  house.  No 
sooner  had  she  gone  than 
he  began  to  consider  the 
consequences  of  her  de- 
parture directly  it  should 
be  known,  and  she  would 
keep  neither  it  nor  the 

cause  which  provoked  her  to  the  step  a  secret.  The  pub- 
licity of  the  affair  was  more  than  he  dared  meet.  He  was 
not  yet  ready  to  encounter  the  storm  it  would  raise.  Great 
as  was  his  influence  over  his  people,  he  did  not  dare  risk 
his  popularity  by  such  a  bold  movement  as  this.  Conse- 
quently he  followed  his  wife,  and  prevailed  upon  her  to  re- 
turn, by  promising  to  dismiss  the  girls,  which  he  did  the 
next  morning.  JThis  was  her  second  triumph  over  his 
practice  of  the  divine  ordinance. 

Emma  Smith  was,  as  may  be  supposed  from  the  above- 
narrated  incidents,  an  energetic,  strong-minded  woman, 
possessing  a  great  influence  over  Joseph,  whose  superior 
she  was,  both  mentally  and  socially,  when  he  married  her. 
She  was  fond  and  proud  of  her  husband  during  the  first 
years  of  his  success ;  but  when  there  was  any  disagreement 


THE  INDIGNANT  WIFE. 


70  THE  PROPHET'S  LIKING  FOR  NANCY. 

between  them,  she  generalty  got  the  better  of  him,  being 
less  passionate  in  temper,  and  more  quietly  decided  in  man- 
ner. She  forced  her  husband  to  respect  her  and  her  opin- 
ions, although  he  was  notoriously  unfaithful  to  her  during 
all  their  married  life. 

Several  young  girls  left  the  church  in  consequence  of  the 
dishonorable  proposals  which  the  Prophet  made  to  them. 
One  of  these  was  a  daughter  of  William  Marks,  another  a 
daughter  of  Sidney  Rigdon.  Both  these  men  —  Rigdon 
especially  —  had  been  his  warm  friends  and  supporters ;  but 
this  insult  offered  to  their  daughters  exasperated  them  be- 
yond measure,  and  both  withdrew  from  him.  Marks  joined 
William  Law  and  his  apostate  circle,  and  was  as  bitter  in 
his  denunciation  as  Law  himself.  Rigdon  removed  from 
Nauvoo,  but  still  avowed  himself  a  "  true  Mormon,"  while 
he  repudiated  Joseph  and  his  teachings.  Other  young  girls 
made  affidavits  to  his  offers  of"  Celestial  Marriage,"  and  their 
statements  were  published  in  many  of  the  leading  papers  all 
over  the  country,  creating  the  most  intense  excitement. 

Joseph  not  only  paid  his  addresses  to  the  young  and  un- 
married women,  but  he  sought  "spiritual  alliance"  with 
many  married  ladies  who  happened  to  strike  his  fancy.  He 
taught  them  that  all  former  marriages  were  null  and  void, 
and  that  they  were  at  perfect  liberty  to  make  another  choice 
of  a  husband.  The  marriage  covenants  were  not  binding, 
because  they  were  ratified  only  by  Gentile  laws.  These 
laws  the  Lord  did  not  recognize ;  consequently  all  the 
women  were  free. 

Again,  he  would  appeal  to  their  religious  sentiments,  and 
their  strong  desire  to  enter  into  the  celestial  kingdom.  He 
used  often  to  argue  in  this  manner  while  endeavoring  to 
convince  some  wavering  or  unwilling  victim:  "Now,  my 
dear  sister,  it  is  true  that  your  husband  is  a  good  man,  a 
very  good  man,  but  you  and  he  are  by  no  means  kindred 
spirits,  and  he  will  never  be  able  to  save  you  in  the  celes- 
tial kingdom ;  it  has  been  revealed  by  the  Spirit  that  you 
ought  to  belong  to  me" 


HOW    THE    WOMEN    RECEIVED    POLYGAMY.  7 1 

This  sophistry,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  had  its  weight, 
and  scarcely  ever  failed  of  its  desired  results.  Many  a  wo- 
man, with  a  kind,  good  husband,  who  loved  her  and  trusted 
her,  and  a  family  of  children,  would  suffer  herself  to  be 
sealed  to  Joseph,  at  the  same  time  living  with  the  husband 
whom  she  was  wronging  so  deeply,  he  believing  fondly 
that  her  love  was  all  his  own. 

One  woman  said  to  me  not  very  long  since,  while  giving      j 
me  some  of  her  experiences  in  polygamy :  "  The  greatest 
trial  I  ever  endured  in  my  life  was  living  with  my  husband 
and   deceiving  him,  by  receiving  Joseph's  attentions  when- 
ever he  chose  to  come  to  me." 

This  woman,  and  others,  whose  experience  has  been  very 
similar,  are  among  the  very  best  women  in  the  church ; 
they  are  as  pure-minded  and  virtuous  women  as  any  in  the 
world.  They  were  seduced  under  the  guise  of  religion, 
taught  that  the  Lord  commanded  it,  and  they  submittecf  as 
to  a  cross  laid  upon  them  by  the  divine  will.  Believing 
implicitly  in  the  Prophet,  they  never  dreamed  of  questioning 
the  truth  of  his  revelations,  and  would  have  considered 
themselves  on  the  verge  of  apostasy,  which  to  a  Mormon 
is  a  most  dangerous  and  horrible  state,  from  which  there  is 
no  possible  salvation,  had  they  refused  to  submit  to  him  and 
to  receive  his  "  divine  "  doctrines. 

Some  of  these  women  have  since  said  they  did  not  know 
who  was  the  father  of  their  children ;  this  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  for  after  Joseph's  declaration  annulling  all  Gentile 
marriages,  the  greatest  promiscuity  was  practised ;  and, 
indeed,  all  sense  of  morality  seemed  to  have  been  lost  by  a 
portion  at  least  of  the  church.  Shocking  as  all  this  may 
appear,  women  that  were  sealed  to  Joseph  at  that  time  are 
more  highly  respected  than  any  others.  It  is  said,  as  the 
highest  meed  of  praise  which  can  be  given,  that  they  never 
repudiated  any  of  the  Prophet's  teachings,  but  submitted  to 
all  his  requirements  without  a  murmur,  and  eventually  they 
will  be  exalted  to  a  high  position  in  the  celestial  kingdom. 


72  THE   FIRST 

Among  the  earliest  converts  to  the  doctrine  of  plural 
wives  was  a  Mr.  Noble,  who,  more  impressible,  or,  accord- 
ing to  Joseph,  "more  faithful"  than  any  others,  opened  his 
heart  very  readily  to  receive  the  teachings  of  the  Prophet, 
and  was  willing  to  reduce  the  teachings  to  practice.  Joseph 
had  paid  his  addresses  to  Mr.  Noble's  sister-in-law,  a  very 
worthy  woman,  and  had  succeeded  in  overcoming  her  scru- 
ples so  far  that  she  had  consented  to  be  sealed  to  him. 


THE  FIRST  PLURAL  MARRIAGE. 

He  then  advised  Noble  to  seek  a  second  wife  for  him- 
self, and  to  commence  at  once  to  "build  up  his  kingdom." 
He  was  not  slow  in  following  his  Prophet's  advice,  and 
together  the  two  men,  with  their  chosen  celestial  brides, 
repaired  one  night  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
where  Joseph  sealed  Noble  to  his  first  plural  wife,  and  in 
return  Noble  performed  the  same  office  for  the  Prophet  and 
his  sister.  These  were  the  first  plural  marriages  that  ever 
took  place  in  the  Mormon  Church,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  be  very  secretly  performed,  and  kept  hidden  afterwards. 

The  young  girl  that  Mr.  Noble  married  went  to  live  with 
his  first  wife,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  this  arrangement 


HEART-BROKEN  AT  HER  DAUGHTER'S  SHAME.     73 

produced  the  greatest  misery  to  both.  Outwardly  they 
were  compelled  to  keep  a  semblance  of  regard ;  but  they 
hated  each  other  with  an  intensity  of  hatred  that  cannot 
possibly  be  felt  outside  of  polygamy.  The  first  wife  pined 
gradually  away,  until  she  was  a  mere  shadow  of  her  former 
self.  Life  for  her  was  utterly  wrecked.  Compelled  to 
share  her  home,  her  husband's  affections,  and  his  attentions 
with  another  woman,  and  to  keep  the  strictest  silence 
through  it  all,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  poor  woman  longed 
eagerly  for  death  as  a  release  from  all  her  woes. 

The  condition  of  the  second  wife  was,  if  possible,  less 
enviable.  A  son  having  been  born  to  her  after  her  mar- 
riage to  Noble,  she  was  compelled  to  see  herself  pointed 
out  as  an  object  of  pity,  and  her  child  branded  as  illegiti- 
mate. She  was  in  a  cruelly  false  position  before  the  world, 
and  she  was  powerless  to  justify  herself;  her  lips  were 
sealed,  and  she,  too,  must  suffer  in  silence.  Her  parents 
were  heart-broken  at  their  daughter's  shame.  They  were 
living  in  one  of  the  eastern  states,  but  they  came  instantly  to 
Nauvoo  to  take  their  child  home.  She  was  compelled  to  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  all  their  entreaties  to  return  with  them,  and  she 
could  not  tell  them  her  secret.  Her  mother  was  nearly  dis- 
tracted when  she  was  obliged  to  return  home  without  her 
daughter,  heart-broken  and  disconsolate,  and  bowed  down 
with  shame  at  her  supposed  dishonor.  She  remained  at 
Nauvoo,  and  the  burden  of  her  life  becoming  greater  than 
she  could  bear,  she  became  insane,  —  a  common  fate  of  po- 
lygamous wives,  by  the  way,  —  and  remained  a  maniac  until 
her  death.  Her  son,  now  a  man  grown,  and  living  in 
Utah,  was  the  first  child  born  in  polygamy.  She  was  an 
innocent,  engaging  young  girl,  and  a  great  favorite  until 
this  sad  affair  occurred ;  her  sensitive  spirit  could  not  en- 
dure the  torture  of  existence,  and  she  died  —  the  first  martyr 
to  polygamy. 

The  first  wife  died  soon  after,  literally  broken-hearted. 
The  husband  has  had  many  wives  since  then ;  indeed,  he 


74  VILLANIES    OF  JOHN    C.    BENNETT. 

has  been  an  indefatigable  disciple  of  the  Celestial  Marriage 
system ;  but  his  many  wives  have  died  one  by  one,  until  he 
has  been  left  alone.  He  is  living  still,  and  is  pointed  out 
and  referred  to  with  praise  as  the  first  man  brave  enough 
to  respond  to  the  call  of  Joseph  Smith  and  become  a  polyg- 
amist. 

One  of  the  first  persons  to  be  initiated  into  the  plural-wife 
doctrine,  if  not  indeed  Joseph's  confederate  in  producing  it, 
was  Dr.  John  C.  Bennett,  at  that  time  Mayor  of  the  city, 
Major-General  of  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  and  a  very  great 
friend  of  Joseph.  It  is  said  that  the  pupil  fairly  outran  the 
teacher,  and  his  success  as  special  pleader  for  the  system  of 
Celestial  Marriage  was  so  decided  that  he  incurred  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Prophet,  and  they  quarrelled  violently.  He 
taught  the  doctrine  to  some  ladies  whom  Smith  had  intended 
to  convert  himself,  and  thus  coming  directly  in  contact  with 
the  Prophet  and  his  schemes,  a  rupture  was  caused  between 
the  worthy  co-workers. 

Bennett  apostatized,  left  Nauvoo,  and  wrote  a  book  called 
"Mormonism  Exposed,"  in  which  he  fully  ventilated  the 
doctrine  of  spiritual  wives  which  Joseph  was  about  to  intro- 
duce into  the  church,  and  accused  the  Prophet  of  the 
grossest  immoralities.  This  expose  created  a  wide-spread 
feeling  of  indignation,  and,  to  save  himself  and  his  people, 
Joseph  was  obliged  to  deny  all  Bennett's  statements;  and 
several  of  the  leading  men  and  women  denied  them  also, 
although  they  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  greater  portion 
of  them  was  true.  It  is  probable  that  the  book  would  have 
had  a  much  wider  influence  had  not  Bennett's  character 
been  so  well  known.  He  was  a  notorious  profligate,  and 
was  pronounced  by  Gentiles  who  had  known  him  before  he 
embraced  Mormonism  to  be  "the  greatest  villain  unhung." 

Joseph's  onl}r  method  of  defending  himself  from  Ben- 
nett's attacks  was  to  assail  him  in  return.  The  raven  was 
taunting  the  crow  for  feeing  a  blackamoor.  He  coupled 
Bennett's  name  with  that  of  a  lady  of  high  standing  in  the 


AN    INNOCENT   WOMAN   ACCUSED.  75 

Mormon  community,  in  the -most  disgraceful  manner,  and 
published  the  scandal  to  a  large  congregation  of  the  Saints, 
causing  the  utmost  consternation  and  dismay.  The  lady  in 
question  had  always  been  considered  above  reproach  ;  never 
before  had  suspicion  touched  her  name  by  even  a  breath, 
and  the  accusation  which  Joseph  brought  against  her  seemed 
too  horrible  to  believe.  But  the  Saints  could  more  easily 
credit  the  scandal  than  they  could  believe  for  one  instant 
that  their  Prophet  could  be  guilty  of  misrepresentation  ;  and 
the  general  conclusion  was,  that  the  lady  had  fallen  from  her 
virtuous  estate,  broken  her  marriage  vows,  and  become  a 
creature  unworthy  of  countenance  or  sympathy. 

Her  husband  was  away  from  home  when  the  trouble  first 
commenced,  but  returning  while  the  excitement  was  at  its 
height,  his  indignation  and  rage  at  the  position  in  which  his 
wife  was  placed  knew  no  bounds.  He  realized  the  situation 
at  once,  and  saw  that  his  wife  was  suffering  from  the 
Prophet's  jealous  anger,  and  was  simply  being  used  as  a 
means  of  revenge  and  retaliation  on  his  enemy  Bennett. 
This  has  been  the  Mormon  leaders'  manner  of  doing  things 
from  the  beginning  ;  they  believe  most  implicitly  in  vicarious 
suffering,  and  it  is  with  them  always  the  innocent  and  help- 
less who  are  punished  for  the  wrong-doings  of  the  more 
powerful. 

The  husband  of  this  unfortunate  lady  came  at  once  to  the 
rescue  of  his  injured  wife's  reputation.  He  w  bearded  the 
lion  in  his  den,"  and  defended  his  wife's  character  in  public, 
hurling  the  lie  at  his  leader's  head,  and  incurring  anathemas 
in  return.  He  did  not  mind  them,  however,  but  still  main- 
tained his  wife's  honor  in  the  face  of  everything.  He  was 
nearly  insane  with  grief  and  rage,  but  he  behaved  nobly 
through  the  whole  affair.  He  was  greatly  attached  to  the 
church,  and  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to  forsake  it,  and  he 
grieved  over  this  action  of  his  Prophet,  but  yet  found  an  ex- 
cuse for  him  on  the  ground  that  he  had  "  lost  the  Spirit,"  and 
had  been  taken  possession  of  by  evil  influences  for  a  while. 


76  AN   ANGRY    HUSBAND    ATTACKS    THE    PROPHET. 

He  loved  his  wife,  and  considered  her  terribly  wronged  and 
sinned  against,  and  he  tried  by  all  the  tenderness  in  his 
power  to  heal  the  cruel  hurt  which  she  had  received.  His 
own  regard  for  and  belief  in  her  turned  the  tide  of  public 
opinion  again  in  her  favor,  and  she  has  been,  if  possible, 
more  highly  esteemed  than  ever  since  that  unfortunate 
accusation.  In  course  of  time  her  husband,  who  is  none 
other  than  Orson  Pratt,  one  of  the  twelve  apostles,  took 
several  plural  wives,  and  became  so  warm  in  his  advocacy 
of  the  system  that  he  is  called  "  the  defender  of  polygamy." 
Mrs.  Pratt  has  since  apostatized,  and  is  working  nobly 
against  Mormonism  and  its  peculiar  system.  No  woman  is 
more  highly  regarded  by  Gentiles  and  Mormons  than  she. 
Her  husband  even,  although  she  has  steadfastly  refused  to 
live  in  polygamy  with  him,  and  has  fought  it  from  its  first 
introduction,  still  has  a  high  regard  for  her,  although  he 
looks  upon  her  as  lost  beyond  redemption.  She  is  now 
an  elderly  woman,  but  her  energy  has  not  abated  one 
whit,  and  she  declares  she  will  never  relax  her  exertions 
towards  putting  down  polygamy  while  she  lives.  If  her 
husband  is  its  "  defender,"  she  may  be  called  its  "  de- 
nouncer ; "  and  her  work  is  the  most  certain  of  being 
crowned  with  ultimate  success. 

The  days  that  preceded  the  Revelation  were  exciting  ones 
in  the  church.  Apostasy  prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent, 
and  the  numbers  of  the  faithful  were  sadly  depleted,  and 
many  more  threatened  to  leave  the  church,  who  were  finally 
prevailed  upon  to  remain.  So  intense  was  the  feeling  that 
in  the  summer  of  1843  the  Prophet,  moved  by  pressure  on 
every  side,  dissatisfaction  within  the  church  and  hatred  and 
indignation  without,  heightened  by  Bennett's  exposd  and 
the  corroborating  accounts  given  by  apostates,  was  com- 
pelled to  intrench  himself  behind  a  divine  "  revelation  "  to 
shield  himself  from  public  odium  and  restore  the  wavering 
confidence  of  his  people. 

It  had  always  been  a  practice  of  Joseph,  whenever  he 


THE  "REVELATION  ON  CELESTIAL  MARRIAGE."      77 

met  with  any  difficulty,  to  receive  a  "Revelation,"  which 
immediately  put  everything  straight.  On  the  present  occa- 
sion he  was  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  received  that 
celebrated  "  Revelation  "  which  then  and  since  has  consti- 
tuted the  sole  authority  in  the  Mormon  Church  for  the 
practice  of  polygamy.  It  was  at  first  only  communicated 
to  a  chosen  few,  and  it  was  not  until  long  after  polygamy 
had  been  practised  more  or  less  openly  in  Utah  that  Brigham 
Young  delivered  it  to  the  world  in  1852.  It  was  then  pub- 
lished in  the  "  Seer"  and  also  in  the  "Millennial  Star? 
under  the  title  of 

CELESTIAL    MARRIAGE. 

A    REVELATION      ON    THE      PATRIARCHAL    ORDER     OF     MATRIMONY,    OR 
PLURALITY    OF    WIVES. 

Given  to  Joseph  Smith,  the  Seer,  in  Nauvoo,  July  12th,  1843. 

Of  all  the  extraordinary  "  revelations  "  given  by  Joseph 
Smith  during  his  eventful  career,  this  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
remarkable.  It  certainly  produced  a  deeper  and  more 
lasting  influence  upon  his  deluded  followers  than  all  his 
other  effusions  put  together,  although  its  language  is  as 
ungrammatical  as  its  tendency  is  immoral.  The  opening 
clause  is  peculiarly  absurd.  The  Book  of  Mormon,  the 
Book  of  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  and  countless  "  revela- 
tions "  had  denounced  polygamy,  and  stated  how  offensive 
the  conduct  of  some  of  the  patriarchs  in  this  respect  had 
been  to  "the  Lord."  Yet  here  Joseph  is  made  to  ask  that 
same  "Lord"  how  he  "justified"  the  very  principle  that 
Joseph  had  all  along  proclaimed  that  "  the  Lord "  held  to 
be  "  an  abomination  "  !  The  Prophet's  sons  of  course  point 
to  this  fact,  and  say  that  it  was  impossible  for  their  father  to 
be  guilty  of  such  an  unparalleled  contradiction.  The  clause 
reads  thus :  — 

"  Verily,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  unto  you,  my  servant  Joseph, 
that,  inasmuch  as  you  have  enquired  of  my  hand  to  know  and 
understand  wherein  I,  the  Lord,  justified  my  servants  as  touching 


78  GENTILE    MARRIAGE    ANNULLED. 

the  principle  and  doctrine  of  their  having  many  wives  and  conciN 
bines  :  Behold,  and  lo,  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  will  answer 
thee  as  touching  this  matter :  Therefore,  prepare  thy  heart  to 
receive  and  obey  the  instructions  which  I  am  about  to  give  unto 
you;  for  all  those  that  have  this  law  revealed  unto  them  must 
obey  the  same  ;  for,  behold,  I  reveal  unto  you  a  new  and  everlast- 
ing covenant,  and  if  ye  abide  not  that  covenant,  then  are  ye 
damned  ;  for  no  one  can  reject  this  covenant  and  be  permitted  to 
enter  into  my  glory ;  for  all  who  will  have  a  blessing  at  my  hands 
shall  abide  the  law  which  was  appointed  for  that  blessing  and  the 
conditions  thereof,  as  was  instituted  from  before  the  foundations 
of  the  world  ;  and  as  pertaining  to  the  new  and  everlasting  cove- 
nant, it  was  instituted  for  the  fulness  of  my  glory  ;  and  he  that 
receiveth  a  fulness  thereof  must  and  shall  abide  the  law,  or  he 
shall  be  damned,  saith  the  Lord  God." 

Having  made  this  very  pleasant  announcement,  the  Rev- 
elation goes  on  to  declare  that  all  contracts  —  matrimonial 
or  other — were  null  and  void  unless  ratified  by  the  Proph- 
et:— 

2d.  "  And  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  the  conditions  of  this  law 
are  these :  All  covenants,  contracts,  bonds,  obligations,  oaths, 
vows,  performances,  connections,  associations,  or  expectations,  that 
are  not  made  and  entered  into  and  sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
promise  of  him  who  is  anointed  both  as  well  for  time  and  for  all 
eternity,  and  that,  too,  most  holy,  by  revelation  and  command- 
ment, through  the  medium  of  mine  anointed,  whom  I  have 
appointed  on  the  earth  to  hold  this  power,  —  and  I  have  appointed 
unto  my  servant  Joseph  to  hold  this  power  in  the  last  days,  and 
there  is  never  but  one  on  the  earth  at  a  time  on  whom  this  power 
and  the  keys  of  the  priesthood  are  conferred,  —  are  of  no  efficacy, 
virtue  or  force  in  and  after  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  ;  for  all 
contracts  that  are  not  made  unto  this  end  have  an  end  when  men 
are  dead." 

The  third  clause  is  simply  a  reiteration  of  the  sentiments 
contained  in  the  preceding ;  but  the  fourth  announces  one 
of  the  most  peculiar  tenets  of  Mormon  theology.  The 
reader  will  see  that  in  it  the  assertion  is  distinctly  made  that 
if  a  man  and  woman  are  married  by  civil  contract  or  accord- 


GIVEN   TO  JOSEPH.  79 

ing  to  the  usage  of  any  of  the  ordinary  sects,  although  they 
may  be  among  the  most  faithful  members  of  the  Mormon 
Church  in  every  other  respect,  yet,  after  death,  they  shall 
not  enjoy  exaltation  in  heaven,  they  shall  not  become  gods, 
shall  not  marry  or  have  children,  shall  have  no  kingdom  or 
priesthood,  but  shall  simply  be  as  the  angels  —  servants  and 
messengers  of  the  Saints.  It  reads  thus  :  — 

4th.  "  Therefore,  if  a  man  marry  him  a  wife  in  the  world,  and 
he  marry  her  not  by  me  nor  by  my  word,  and  he  covenant  with 
her  so  long  as  he  is  in  the  world,  and  she  with  him,  their  covenant 
and  marriage  is  not  of  force  when  they  are  dead,  and  when  they 
are  out  of  the  world  ;  therefore  they  are  not  bound  by  any  law 
when  they  are  out  of  the  world  ;  therefore,  when  they  are  out  of 
the  world  they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are 
appointed  angels  in  heaven,  which  angels  are  ministering  servants 
to  minister  for  those  who  are  worthy  of  a  far  more,  and  an  ex- 
ceeding and  an  eternal  weight  of  glory  ;  for  these  angels  did  not 
abide  my  law,  therefore  they  cannot  be  enlarged,  but  remain 
separately  and  singly,  without  exaltation,  in  their  saved  condition, 
to  all  eternity,  and  from  henceforth  are  not  gods,  but  are  angels  of 
God  for  ever  and  ever." 

Thus  far  the  Revelation  sets  forth  the  uncomfortable  fate 
of  those  who  do  not  strictly  conform  to  the  teachings  of  the 
Prophet  in  matrimonial  affairs.  We  now  come  to  the  other 
side  of  the  question — the  rewards  which  are  to  crown  the 
faithful.  The  reader  will  observe  that  the  strictest  obe- 
dience is  required  to  be  paid  to  "him  who  is  anointed,"  and 
who  carries  the  keys. 

6th.  "And  again,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  if  a  man  marry  a  wife 
by  my  word,  which  is  my  law,  and  by  the  new  and  everlasting 
covenant,  and  it  is  sealed  unto  them  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise 
by  him  who  is  anointed,  unto  whom  I  have  appointed  this  power 
and  the  keys  of  this  priesthood,  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them, 
Ye  shall  come  forth  in  the  first  resurrection,  and  if  it  be  after  the 
first  resurrection,  in  the  next  resurrection  ;  and  shall  inherit 
thrones,  kingdoms,  principalities  and  powers,  dominions,  all 
heights  and  depths,  then  shall  it  be  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book 


80  THE    REWARD    OF    THE    FAITHFUL. 

of  Life,  that  he  shall  commit  no  murder  whereby  to  shed  innocent 
blood.  And  if  ye  abide  in  my  covenant,  and  commit  no  murder 
whereby  to  shed  innocent  blood,  it  shall  be  done  unto  them  in  all 
things  whatsoever  my  servant  hath  put  upon  them,  in  time  and 
through  all  eternity,  and  shall  be  of  full  force  when  they  are  out 
of  the  world,  and  they  shall  pass  by  the  angels  and  the  gods 
which  are  set  there,  to  their  exaltation  and  glory  in  all  things,  as 
hath  been  sealed  upon  their  heads,  which  glory  shall  be  a  fulness 
and  a  continuation  of  the  seeds  for  ever  and  ever. 

^th.  "  Then  shall  they  be  gods,  because  they  have  no  end ; 
therefore  shall  they  be  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  because 
they  continue ;  then  shall  they  be  above  all,  because  all  things  are 
subject  unto  them  ;  then  shall  they  be  gods,  because  they  have 
all  power,  and  the  angels  are  subject  unto  them." 

This  is  the  reward  of  the  faithful.  The  Revelation,  how- 
ever, was  intended  to  be  comprehensive  and  final ;  it  was  to 
meet  every  case,  and  there  was  to  be  no  appeal  from  its 
decisions.  The  married  couple  being  united  in  strict  ac- 
cordance with  the  Revelation,  they  are  now  assured  of 
salvation  and  exaltation  in  the  world  to  come,  provided  they 
commit  no  unpardonable  sin.  In  the  following  paragraph 
that  sin  is  defined,  but  the  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that 
the  blood  of  Gentiles  is  not  w  innocent "  blood ;  the  shedding 
of  it,  therefore,  is  no  crime :  — 

9th.  "  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  if  a  man  marry  a  wife 
according  to  my  word,  and  they  are  sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
promise  according  to  mine  appointment,  and  he  or  she  shall  com- 
mit any  sin  or  transgression  of  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant 
whatever,  and  all  manner  of  blasphemies,  and  if  they  commit  no 
murder  wherein  they  shed  innocent  blood,  —  yet  they  shall  come 
forth  in  the  first  resurrection,  and  enter  into  their  exaltation,  but 
they  shall  be  destroyed  in  the  flesh,  and  shall  be  delivered  unto 
the  buffetings  of  Satan  unto  the  day  of  redemption,  saith  the 
Lord  God. 

loth.  "  The  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  shall 
not  be  forgiven  in  the  world  nor  out  of  the  world,  is  in  that  ye 
commit  murder,  wherein  ye  shed  innocent  blood  and  assent  unto 


EXAMPLES   FOR   THE    SAINTS    TO    FOLLOW.  8l 

my  death  after  ye  have  received  my  new  and  everlasting  covenant, 
saith  the  Lord  God ;  and  he  that  abideth  not  this  law  can  in 
no  wise  enter  into  my  glory,  but  shall  be  damned,  saith  the  Lord." 

In  the  italicized  words,  "but  they  shall  be  destroyed  in 
the  flesh,"  is  foreshadowed  that  terrible  doctrine  —  the 
Blood- Atonement ;  of  which  I  shall  presently  speak  more. 
It  was  not  long  before  the  Saints  were  taught  openly  that  it 
was  their  duty  to  w  destroy  in  the  flesh  "  all  upon  whom  the 
leaders  of  the  church  frowned. 

We  come  now  to  the  examples  which  were  held  up  for 
the  Saints  to  follow  :  — 

1 2th.  "Abraham  received  promises  concerning  his  seed  and 
of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  —  from  whose  loins  ye  are,  namely,  my 
servant  Joseph,  —  which  were  to  continue  so  long  as  they  were  in 
the  world  ;  and  as  touching  Abraham  and  his  seed,  out  of  the 
world  they  should  continue ;  both  in  the  world  and  out  of  the 
world  should  they  continue  as  innumerable  as  the  stars,  or  if  ye 
were  to  count  the  sand  upon  the  sea-shore  ye  could  not  number 
them.  This  promise  is  yours  also,  because  ye  are  of  Abraham, 
and  the  promise  was  made  unto  Abraham  ;  and  by  this  law  are 
the  continuation  of  the  works  of  my  Father,  wherein  He  glorifieth 
himself.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  do  the  works  of  Abraham  ;  enter 
ye  into  my  law,  and  ye  shall  be  saved.  But  if  ye  enter  not  into 
my  law  ye  cannot  receive  the  promises  of  my  Father  which  he 
made  unto  Abraham. 

1 3th.  "  God  commanded  Abraham,  and  Sarah  gave  Hagar  to 
Abraham  to  wife.  And  why  did  she  do  it?  Because  this  was 
the  law,  and  from  Hagar  sprang  many  people.  This,  therefore, 
was  fulfilling,  among  other  things,  the  promises.  Was  Abraham, 
therefore,  under  condemnation?  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Nay ;  for 
I,  the  Lord,  commanded  it.  Abraham  was  commanded  to  offer 
his  son  Isaac ;  nevertheless  it  was  written,  Thou  shalt  not  kill. 
Abraham,  however,  did  not  refuse,  and  it  was  accounted  unto  him 
for  righteousness. 

1 4th.  "  Abraham  received  concubines,  and  they  bare  him 
children,  and  it  was  accounted  unto  him  for  righteousness,  because 
they  were  given  unto  him  and  he  abode  in  my  law.  As  Isaac 
6 


82  THE   AUDACITY    OF  JOSEPH    SMITH. 

also  and  Jacob  did  none  other  things  than  that  which  they  were 
commanded,  and  because  they  did  none  other  things  than  that 
which  they  were  commanded,  they  have  entered  into  their  exalta- 
tion, according  to  the  promises,  and  sit  upon  thrones  ;  and  are  not 
angels,  but  Gods.  David  also  received  many  wives  and  concubines, 
as  also  Solomon,  and  Moses  my  servant ;  as  also  many  others  of  my 
servants,  from  the  beginning  of  creation  until  this  time ;  and  in 
nothing  did  they  sin,  save  in  those  things  which  they  received  not 
of  me. 

I5th.  "  David's  wives  and  concubines  were  given  unto  him  of 
me,  by  the  hand  of  Nathan  my  servant,  and  others  of  the  proph- 
ets, who  had  the  keys  of  this  power ;  and  in  none  of  these  things 
did  he  sin  against  me,  save  in  the  case  of  Uriah  and  his  wife  ;  and 
therefore  he  hath  fallen  from  his  exaltation,  and  received  his  por- 
tion ;  and  he  shall  not  inherit  them  out  of  the  world ;  for  I  gave 
them  unto  another,  saith  the  Lord." 

The  audacity  of  Joseph  Smith  in  stating  as  a  Revelation 
from  God,  that  "David's  wives  and  concubines  wzxz given 
him  of  me  by  the  hand  of  Nathan  .  .  .  in  none  of  these 
things  did  he  sin  against  me"  is  scarcely  conceivable,  when 
it  is  remembered  that  in  the  "divinely  inspired"  Book  of  Mor- 
mon it  is  written,  "David  and  Solomon  truly  had  many 
wives  and  concubines,  -which  thing  was  abominable  before 
me,  saith  the  Lord.'1''  "The  Lord,"  however,  whom  Joseph 
served,  seems  to  have  been  as  inconsistent  in  this  as  in  many 
other  matters.  But  in  case  of  difficulty,  Joseph  was  spe- 
cially commissioned  "  to  restore  all  things."  Celestial  Mar- 
riage was  more  exactly  defined,  and  that  the  whole  concern 
should  run  more  smoothly,  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  on 
earth  and  in  heaven  were  handed  over  to  the  Prophet. 

i6th.  "I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  I  gave  unto  thee  my  ser- 
vant Joseph,  an  appointment,  and  restore  all  things;  ask  what  ye 
will,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you,  according  to  my  word  ;  and 
as  ye  have  asked  concerning  adultery,  verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
if  a  man  receiveth  a  wife  in  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  and 
if  she  be  with  another  man,  and  I  have  not  appointed  unto  her  by 
the  holy  anointing,  she  hath  committed  adultery,  and  shall  be  de- 


RECEIVES    ADVICE.  83 

stroyed.  If  she  be  not  in  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  and 
she  be  with  another  man,  she  has  committed  adultery  ;  and  if  her 
husband  be  with  another,  woman,  and  he  was  under  a  vow,  he 
hath  broken  his  vow,  and  hath  committed  adultery ;  and  if  she 
hath  not  committed  adultery,  but  is  innocent,  and  Thath  not  broken 
her  vow,  and  she  knoweth  it,  and  I  reveal  it  unto  you,  my  ser- 
vant Joseph,  then  shall  you  have  power,  by  the  power  of  my  Holy 
Priesthood,  to  take  her,  and  give  her  unto  him  that  hath  not  com- 
mitted adultery,  but  hath  been  faithful,  for  he  shall  be  made  ruler 
over  many ;  for  I  have  conferred  upon  you  the  keys  and  power  of 
the  priesthood,  wherein  I  restore  all  things,  and  make  known  unto 
you  all  things  in  due  time. 

1 7th.  "  And  verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  whatsoever  you 
seal  on  earth,  shall  be  sealed  in  heaven  ;  and  whatsoever  you  bind 
on  earth,  in  my  name,  and  by  my  word,  saith  the  Lord,  it  shall 
be  eternally  bound  in  the  heavens  ;  and  whosesoever  sins  you  remit 
on  earth  shall  be  remitted  eternally  in  the  heavens ;  and  whoseso- 
ever sins  you  retain  on  earth  shall  be  retained  in  heaven. 

iSth.  "  And  again  verily  I  say,  whomsoever  you  bless  I  will 
bless  ;  and  whomsoever  you  curse  I  will  curse,  saith  the  Lord  ;  for 
I,  the  Lord,  am  thy  God." 

After  all  this  preamble, — the  keys  committed  to  Joseph, 
the  relation  of  husbands  and  wives  under  the  new  dispensa- 
tion defined,  "  Celestial  Marriage "  instituted,  and  a  great 
many  other  matters  discussed,  we  come  to  what  was,  no 
doubt,  prominent  in  the  Prophet's  mind  all  the  while  he  was 
dictating  the  Revelation  to  Elder  Clayton,  — namely,  how  to 
manage  "the  Elect  Lady,"  Mrs.  Emma  Smith.  Accord- 
ingly she  is  made  the  subject  of  a  special  address.  She 
is  told  to  "  receive  all  that  have  been  given  to  my  servant 
Joseph."  She  is  forbidden  to  leave  the  Prophet,  as  she  had 
threatened  to  do  if  he  carried  out  his  "celestial"  system, 
and  certain  other  very  useful  hints  are  given  for  her  guid- 
ance if  she  would  remain  in  peace.  One  particular  passage 
is  said  to  refer  to  a  matrimonial  scene  in  which  a  threat  was 
held  out  that  the  life  of  the  Elect  Lady  should  be  terminated 


84  A   LITTLE    MORE    "REVELATION." 

by  poison.  She  is  here  commanded  to  "stay  herself,  and 
partake  not"  of  that  which  Joseph  had  offered  her.  It  is, 
however,  only  right  to  add  that  the  Mormon  exponents  of 
the  Revelation  say  that  this  passage  refers  to  an  offer  which 
Joseph  had  made  to  sacrifice  his  own  personal  feelings,  and 
to  accede  to  a  divorce  between  Emma  and  himself.  In 
these  few  lines  more  is  disclosed  of  the  Prophet's  domestic 
life  and  difficulties  than  he  probably  was  aware  of.  I  give 
these  paragraphs  in  full,  that  the  reader  may  judge  for 
himself. 

2Oth.  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  a  commandment  I  give  unto 
mine  handmaid  Emma  Smith,  your  wife,  whom  I  have  given  unto 
you,  that  she  stay  herself,  and  partake  not  of  that  which  I  com- 
manded you  to  offer  unto  her ;  for  I  did  it,  saith  the  Lord,  to  prove 
you  all,  as  I  did  Abraham  ;  and  that  I  might  require  an  offering  at 
your  hand,  by  covenant  and  sacrifice ;  and  let  mine  handmaid 
Emma  Smith  receive  all  those  that  have  been  given  unto  my 
servant  Joseph,  and  who  are  virtuous  and  pure  before  me ;  and 
those  who  are  not  pure,  and  have  said  they  were  pure,  shall  be 
destroyed,  saith  the  Lord  God ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
ye  shall  obey  my  voice ;  and  I  give  unto  my  servant  Joseph,»that 
he  shall  be  made  ruler  over  many  things,  for  he  hath  been  faithful 
over  a  few  things,  and  from  henceforth  I  will  strengthen  him. 

2ist.  "  And  I  command  mine  handmaid  Emma  Smith  to 
abide  and  cleave  unto  my  servant  Joseph,  and  to  none  else.  But 
if  she  will  not  abide  this  commandment,  she  shall  be  destroyed, 
saith  the  Lord  ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  will  destroy  her 
if  she  abide  not  in  my  law ;  but  if  she  will  not  abide  this  com- 
mandment, then  shall  my  servant  Joseph  do  all  things  for  her, 
even  as  he  has  said ;  and  I  will  bless  him  and  multiply  him,  and 
give  unto  him  an  hundred  fold  in  this  world,  of  fathers  and  moth- 
ers, brothers  and  sisters,  houses  and  lands,  wives  and  children, 
and  crowns  of  eternal  lives  in  the  eternal  worlds.  And  again, 
verily  I  say  let  mine  handmaid  forgive  my  servant  Joseph  his  tres- 
passes, and  then  shall  she  be  forgiven  her  trespasses,  wherein  she 
has  trespassed  against  me ;  and  I,  the  Lord  thy  God,  will  bless 
,her,  and  multiply  her,  and  make  her  heart  to  rejoice." 


PRIVILEGES    OF   THE    MORMON   MEN.  85 

The  concluding  clauses  speak  for  themselves.  The 
reader  will  see  that  in  the  twenty-third  the  Prophet  is  com- 
pletely set  free  from  all  responsibility,  and  left  at  liberty, 
without  let  or  hinderance,  to  follow  the  dictates  of  his  own 
sweet  will.  In  the  two  concluding  paragraphs  the  wildest 
licentiousness  is  permitted,  in  the  name  of  "the  Lord,"  to 
the  masculine  portion  of  humanity,  —  if  believers  in  Joseph, 
—  and  the  weaker  sex  are  sternly  warned  of  the  penalties 
of  doubt  and  disobedience. 

23d.  "  Now  as  touching  the  law  of  the  priesthood,  there  are 
many  things  pertaining  thereunto.  Verily,  if  a  man  be  called  of 
my  Father,  as  was  Aaron,  by  mine  own  voice,  and  by  the  voice 
of  him  that  sent  me,  and  I  have  endowed  him  with  the  keys  of  the 
power  of  this  priesthood,  if  he  do  anything  in  my  name,  and 
according  to  my  law,  and  by  my  word,  he  will  not  commit  sin, 
and  I  will  justify  him.  Let  no  one,  therefore,  set  on  my  servant 
Joseph  ;  for  I  will  justify  him  ;  for  he  shall  do  the  sacrifice  which 
I  require  at  his  hands,  for  his  transgressions,  saith  the  Lord  your 
God. 

24th.  "  And  again,  as  pertaining  to  the  law  of  the  priesthood  : 
If  any  man  espouse  a  virgin,  and  desire  to  espouse  another,  and 
the  first  give  her  consent ;  and  if  he  espouse  the  second,  and  they 
are  virgins,  and  have  vowed  to  no  other  man,  then  is  he  justified ; 
he  cannot  commit  adultery,  for  they  are  given  unto  him.  For  he 
cannot  commit  adultery  with  that  which  belongeth  unto  him,  and 
to  none  else  ;  and  if  he  have  ten  virgins  given  unto  him  by  this 
law,  he  cannot  commit  adultery,  for  they  belong  to  him  ;  and  they 
are  given  unto  him  —  therefore  is  he  justified.  But  if  one  or  either 
of  the  ten  virgins,  after  she  is  espoused,  shall  be  with  another 
man,  she  has  committed  adultery,  and  shall  be  destroyed ;  for 
they  are  given  unto  him  to  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  ac- 
cording to  my  commandment,  and  to  fulfil  the  promise  which 
was  given  by  my  Father  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  and 
for  their  exaltation  in  the  eternal  worlds,  that  they  may  bear  the 
souls  of  men  ;  for  herein  is  the  work  of  my  Father  continued,  that 
He  may  be  glorified. 

25th.    "  And  again,  verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  if  any  man  have 


86 

a  wife  who  holds  the  keys  of  this  power,  and  he  teaches  unto  her 
the  law  of  my-  priesthood,  as  pertaining  to  these  things  ;  then  shall 
she  believe,  and  administer  unto  him,  or  she  shall  be  destroyed, 
saith  the  Lord  your  God,  for  I  will  destroy  her ;  for  I  will  mag- 
nify my  name  upon  all  those  who  receive  and  abide  in  my  law. 
Therefore  it  shall  be  lawful  in  me,  if  she  receive  not  this  law,  for 
him  to  receive  all  things  whatsoever  I  the  Lord  his  God  will  give 
unto  him,  because  she  did  not  believe,  and  administer  unto  him, 
according  to  my  word ;  and  she  then  becomes  the  transgressor, 
and  he  is  exempt  from  the  law  of  Sarah,  who  administered  unto 
Abraham  according  to  the  law,  when  I  commanded  Abraham  to 
take  Hagar  to  wife.  And  now,  as  pertaining  to  this  law  ;  verily, 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  reveal  more  unto  you  hereafter  ;  there- 
fore let  this  suffice  for  the  present.  Behold,  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega.  Amen." 

When  Joseph  released  all  other  wives  from  their  marriage 
contracts,  of  course  Emma  was  also  released.  It  is  said  she 
thought  of  making  another  choice,  and  would  have  done  so, 
but  the  Revelation  came  in  time  to  prevent  it.  Joseph  offered 
to  make  the  sacrifice,  but  the  Lord  told  Emma  to  w  abide  and 
cleave  to  my  servant  Joseph,"  who  had  been  cunning  enough 
to  insert  these  clauses  in  his  "Revelation,"  so  as  to  hold  her 
more  closely.  It  is  said  that  she  was  shown  the  first  copy 
of  it,  and  burned  it;  if  so,  there  must  have  been  another  in 
existence,  for  the  one  that  Brigham  Young  gave  in  1852  as 
Joseph's  revelation  was  identical  with  that  given  a  few  of 
the  chosen  Saints  in  1843. 

I  have  entered  somewhat  more  into  detail  regarding  the 
early  history  of  Mormonism  than  I  intended  in  the  begin- 
ning ;  but  I  have  considered  it  necessary  to  do  so,  in  order 
to  show  to  my  readers  more  fully  the  doctrines  I  have  been 
taught  from  my  infancy,  and  to  give  them  some  idea  of  the 
Mormon  stand-point.  They  can  easily  see  how  things  may 
become  distorted  when  looked  at  from  such  a  one-sided 
position. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


AFTER    JOSEPH'S   DEATH.  — BRIGHAM   YOUNG  ELECTED 

PROPHET. 

Kindness  of  the  Gentiles.  —  Strangers  in  a  Strange  Land.  —  My  Parents 
join  the  Saints  in  Nauvoo.  —  They  Purchase  Land  in  the  City.  —  Are 
shamefully  Defrauded.  —  Joseph's  Unfaithful  Friends.  —  My  Parents 
left  almost  Destitute.  —  I  am  Born  in  the  Midst  of  Troubles.  —  The 
Saints  Bewildered.  —  Who  should  succeed  Joseph?  —  Sidney  Rigdon's 
Claims  to  the  Presidency.  —  He  returns  to  Nauvoo.  —  Has  Dreams 
and  Visions.  —  He  Promises  to  "Pull  Little  Vic's  Nose."  — The  Apos- 
tles hear  of  the  Prophet's  Murder.  —  They  hasten  to  Nauvoo. — 
Brigham  begins  his  Successful  Intrigues.  —  He  Settles  Sidney  Rigdon. 
—  An  Extraordinary  Trial.  —  Brigham's  Idea  of  Free  Voting.  —  Wo- 
men's Suffrage  in  Utah.  —  Why  Brigham  gave  the  Franchise  to  the 
Women.  —  My  own  Experience  as  a  Voter.  —  Brigham  dictates  what 
I'm  to  Do.  —  I  obey  Quietly. —  How  Sidney  Rigdon  was  Deposed. — 
Brigham  Rules  the  Church. 

PON  the  arrival  of  the  Saints 
in  Illinois  they  made  Quincy 
their  first  stopping-place,  and 
thence  the  majority  of  them 
went  at  once  to  Nauvoo,  the 
new  gathering-place. 

My  parents  did  not  accom- 
pany them,  but  remained  in 
Quincy  two  months.  They 
reached  that  city  in  a  state  of 
almost  utter  destitution,  with 
barely  clothing  enough  to  ren- 
der them  decent,  certainly  not 
enough  to  make  them  com- 
fortable. Their  reception  by 

the    residents  of  the  city,    indeed  by  the  people  of  Illinois 
generally,  was  very  cordial,  and  my  mother  often  says  she 


88     THE  PROPHET'S  FRIENDS  STEAL  A  LAND-GRANT. 

shall  never  forget  the  kindness  she  received  at  their  hands. 
Literally,  she  "  was  a  stranger  and  they  took  her  in,  hun- 
gry and  they  fed  her,  naked  and  they  clothed  her."  And 
not  only  her,  but  her  little  ones. 

My  mother  was  energetic  and  willing,  and  she  found  work 
in  plenty,  and  managed  to  get  together  some  of  the  com- 
forts and  necessaries  of  life,  when,  after  a  two  months' 
sojourn  amid  these  hospitable  people,  they  removed  to  Pay- 
son,  where  my  father  built  a  carriage  manufactory  and  once 
more  commenced  business.  After  three  years  of  remunera- 
tive labor,  during  which  time  he  had  got  his  business  fairly 
established,  he  concluded  to  leave  it  and  join  the  Saints  at 
Nauvoo  ;  he  and  my  mother  both  —  the  latter  more  especially 
—  desiring  to  be  once  more  in  Zion  with  the  "chosen  peo- 
ple." My  father  had  purchased  five  acre-lots  in  the  City  of 
Nauvoo,  and  felt  that  he  had  a  material  as  well  as  a  spirit- 
ual hold  upon  Zion.  The  deeds  were  properly  executed, 
and  after  making  sure  that  everything  was  right  during  a 
visit  to  the  city,  he  made  instant  preparations  to  move  his 
family  thither. 

When  he  returned  with  his  family  and  prepared  to  take 
possession  of  his  property,  he  found  it  claimed  by  Dr.  Fos- 
ter, a  friend  and  favorite  of  Joseph  Smith,  who  pretended 
to  have  made  a  verbal  contract  for  the  land  two  years  be- 
fore. This,  of  course,  brought  the  property  into  a  dispute 
which  could  only  be  settled  by  the  church  authorities,  Joseph 
himself  presiding.  As  a  matter  of  course,  there  was  but  one 
decision,  and  what  that  would  be  my  father  knew  very 
nearly  as  well  before  it  was  given  as  he  did  afterwards. 
Joseph  would  not  decide  against  his  friend ;  the  rest,  seeing 
how  his  mind  was  made  up,  dared  not;  and  the  land  was 
declared  to  belong  to  Foster,  who,  by  the  way, —  such  were 
his  regard  and  gratitude  for  his  leader, —  apostatized  not  very 
long  afterwards,  attached  himself  to  Law  and  his  party, 
and  finally  removed  from  Nauvoo,  denouncing  the  religion 
and  its  Prophet,  and,  indeed,  carried  his  enmity  so  far  that 


CONTEST  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  CHURCH.   89 

he  joined  those  miscreants  to  whose  violence  may  be  attrib- 
uted the  death  of  Joseph  Smith. 

My  father  was  again  stripped  of  his  property,  by  the 
treachery  and  unjust  ruling  of  the  very  man  whom  he  had 
so  faithfully  served.  He  had  enough  money  remaining, 
however,  to  purchase  other  lots,  and  on  the  land  thus  ob- 
tained he  built  two  very  comfortable  houses,  in  one  of  which 
I  was  born,  as  I  before  said,  on  the  I3th  of  September, 
1844,  at  tne  most  tempestuous  and  most  critical  period  in  all 
Mormon  history. 

Joseph  Smith  had  been  assassinated  the  previous  July, 
and  his  death,  sudden  and  violent  as  it  was,  had  almost 
paralyzed  the  people,  who  were  thus  left  without  a  leader, 
and  who  were  ill  fitted  to  govern  themselves,  since  they  had 
for  so  long  a  time  given  up  their  wills  to  the  Prophet,  fol- 
lowing his  instructions  as  obediently  as  the  most  tractable 
children  do  their  parents'  behests.  They  had  for  so  many 
years  depended  upon  him  to  guide  them  that  they  were  un- 
fitted almost  to  think  for  themselves.  Life  was  a  hopeless 
muddle,  and  they  saw  no  way  of  making  it  clearer.  Then 
their  former  friends  had  turned  to  enemies,  and  they  began 
to  fear  that  they  should  be  driven  from  their  pleasant  homes 
in  Illinois,  as  they  had  been  from  Missouri.  And  with  all 
the  disturbance  outside  the  church,  there  were  heresy  and 
schism  among  themselves. 

The  question  who  should  be  the  leader  in  Joseph's  place 
was  exercising  the  church.  The  "First  Presidency"  was 
composed  of  Joseph  Smith,  his  brother  Hyrum,  and  Sidney 
Rigdon.  Hyrum  Smith  was  killed  in  prison  with  his 
brother,  and  Rigdon,  although  he  had  not  apostatized,  had 
grown  cool  in  the  faith,  left  Nauvoo,  and  was  living  at 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  enjoying  life  outside  of  Mormondom,  and 
seemingly  finding  much  pleasure  in  Gentile  society.  After 
the  Missouri  episode  his  enthusiasm  was  very  much  chilled, 
and  he  indulged  in  fewer  rhodomontades  against  the  gov- 
ernment. When  Joseph  made  his  advances  to  his  daughter 


9° 


PULLING 


Nancy,  Rigdon  was  very  much  offended,  and  left  Nauvoo  at 
oncev  As  soon,  however,  as  he  heard  of  Joseph's  death  he 
made  all  haste  to  return  and  secure  for  himself  the  "  office  " 
of  "Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator,"  to  which  he  claimed  he 
had  been  ordained.  He  was  not  received  with  enthusiasm 
by  the  Saints,  and  he  very  soon  discovered  that  whoever 
might  step  into  the  dead  Prophet's  shoes,  he,  for  a  certainty, 
would  not  be  allowed  to  wear  them.  There  was  nothing  then 
remaining  for  him  to  do  but  to  assume  that  Joseph's  mantle 

of  prophecy  had  fallen  upon 
his  shoulders ;  consequent- 
ly, he  revelled  in  visions 
and  dreams  of  the  wildest 
and  most  fanatical  kind. 
His  prophecies  were  the 
most  wonderful  that  ever 
were  heard,  and  were  so 
very  incoherent  and  incon- 
sistent that  serious  doubts 
of  his  sanity  were  enter- 
tained. There  were  to  be 
tremendous  battles ;  blood 
was  to  flow  until  the  horses 
waded  in  it  up  to  their  very 

bridles.  All  the  powers  of  the  earth  were  to  assail  the 
Saints,  but  Rigdon  was  to  lead  the  faithful  to  certain  vic- 
tory. All  the  strength  of  earth  was  to  bow  before  this  little 
band  of  people  and  their  consecrated  leader,  and  he  was, 
as  a  final  act  of  triumph  as  he  returned  from  the  battle  of 
Armageddon,  to  call  in  England  and  "pull  the  nose  of 
little  Vic." 

What  the  young  queen,  then  in  the  full  flush  of  popular- 
ity, had  done  to  raise  this  modern  Bombastes'  ire,  remains  to 
this  day  a  mystery.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  battles 
have  never  been  fought,  nor  has  her  majesty's  nose  been 
maltreated  by  Rigdon  or  any  other  crazy  Mormon  fanatic. 


SIDNEY  RIGDON. 


BRIGHAM    SHOWS    THE    CLOVEN    HOOF  !  pi 

At  the  time  of  the  assassination  of  Joseph  Smith  nearly 
all  the  apostles  were  away  on  a  mission.  On  hearing^the 
evil  tidings  from  Zion,  they  hastened  there  without  delay, 
and  Brigham  Young,  Parley  P.  Pratt,  Orson  Hyde,  and 
Heber  C.  Kimball  arrived  soon  after  Rigdon  made  his  ap- 
pearance, and  while  he  was  in  the  midst  of  his  "  revelations." 
From  the  moment  of  their  arrival  his  chances  were  smaller 
than  ever,  although  he  still  maintained,  but  in  not  so  public 
a  manner  as  at  first,  that  he  held  "the  keys  of  David,"  and 
that  he  intended  to  persist  in  the  maintenance  of  his  claims, 
even  if  obliged  to  do  so  forcibly. 

The  man  for  the  situation  appeared  at  this  juncture  in 
Brigham  Young.  Ambitious  himself  for  the  position  which 
Rigdon  so  earnestly  coveted,  fortune  seemed  to  have  placed 
him  exactly  in  the  situation  to  attain  it.  He  was —  so  it  hap- 
pened by  the  merest  chance  —  the  senior  apostle,  and  that 
gave  him  authority.  Thomas  Marsh,  who  was  at  one  time 
the  senior,  had  apostatized ;  Patten,  the  second  apostle,  had 
been  killed  by  the  mob,  and  this  made  the  third  apostle  the 
first  or  senior  of  the  "twelve."  The  third  happened  to  be 
Brigham  Young ;  so  that,  after  all,  it  was  a  mere  chance 
that  placed  him  where  he  is.  Both  the  Pratts  were  far 
superior  to  him  in  intellect ;  and  they  and  Orson  Hyde  were 
far  ahead  of  him  in  mental  attainments,  such  as  they  were. 
He  was  a  very  plain  man,  entirely  uneducated,  and  had 
been  noted  for  nothing  except  his  fidelity  to  the  Prophet  and 
the  church  and  his  hard-working  disposition.  But  he  was 
shrewd  enough  to  see  his  opportunity  and  to  seize  it,  and 
yet  to  do  it  in  such  a  manner  that  neither  his  associates  nor 
the  church  itself  had  the  least  suspicion  of  his  real  plan. 

The  first  move  was  to  have  Rigdon's  case  settled.  He 
was  summoned  for  public  trial  before  the  High  Council, 
and  eight  of  the  apostles  appeared  as  witnesses.  Brigham 
Young  played  a  very  important  part  in  this  trial ;  he  opened 
proceedings  by  accusing  Rigdon  of  a  determination  to  rule 
the  church  or  ruin  it,  and  followed  up  the  accusation  by 


p2  SIDNEY   HANDED    OVER    TO    THE    DEVIL. 

declaring  that  he  should  do  neither.  All  the  events  of  his 
life  were  passed  in  review,  and  although  he  was  not  present, 
being  detained,  it  was  said,  by  illness,  the  case  was  by  no 
means  deferred,  and  he  was  tried  without  an  opportunity  of 
defending  himself.  At  the  motion  of  Brigham,  he  was 
"  cut  off  from  the  Church  of  Latter-Day  Saints,  and  deliv- 
ered over  to  the  buffetings  of  Satan,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord ;  and  all  the  people  said,  Amen." 

There  were  about  ten  persons  who  ventured  to  vote  in 
favor  of  Rigdon,  and  they  were  immediately  "suspended" 
from  the  church  for  their  temerity.  This  is  the  way  in 
which  persons  are  served  even  now  who  venture  to  disagree 
with  Brigham  Young.  There  is  absolutely  no  such  thing 
known  among  the  Mormons  as  a  free  expression  of  opinion. 
Whether  it  be  on  religious  or  political  subjects,  the  decision 
of  the  people  is  governed  by  the  wishes  of  the  President. 
The  manner  of  voting  in  public  assemblies  is  never  varied. 
Brigham  prefaces  all  ceremonies  of  the  kind  by  an  address, 
in  which  he  manages  to  let  the  people  know  exactly  how  he 
feels  upon  the  subject  under  discussion,  and  they  understand 
that  they  are  to  feel  exactly  the  same  way  ;  and  as  there  is  no 
question  of  choice,  they  make  themselves  fancy  they  do  be- 
lieve exactly  as  he  does.  If  they  have  any  question  of  doubt, 
they  stifle  it  very  quickly,  and,  if  they  are  very  good  Mor- 
mons, take  themselves  to  task  for  their  wickedness  in  enter- 
taining a  thought  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  their  Prophet. 
After  the  address,  Brigham  calls  for  a  show  of  uplifted 
hands,  and  requests  every  one  to  vote.  The  "  contrary 
minds "  are  then  called ;  but  such  is  the  singular  unity  of 
this  people  that  there  is  never  a  "  contrary "  mind  among 
them.  To  make  this  ceremony  of  voting  more  humorous, 
the  Prophet,  in  requesting  all  the  people  to  vote,  wittily 
adds,  "in  one  way  or  the  other."  This  piece  of  pleasantry 
on  Brigham's  part  is  quite  appreciated  by  the  Mormons,  and 
the  "oneway"  receives  all  the  saintly  votes,  to  the  utter 
exclusion  of  "the  other."  Let  any  one  attempt  to  take  the 


THE    PROPHET    BRIGHAM  S    LITTLE    TRICKS.  93 

Presidential  joke  au  serieux,  and  it  becomes  anything  but 
pleasant  for  him.  He  is  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  re- 
garded as  an  enemy  of  the  church  and  its  ruler,  and  if  he 
escape  serious  persecution  he  may  be  considered  especially 
fortunate. 

In  politics  there  is  about  the  same  freedom  of  opinion,  or 
of  its  expression,  rather.  Although  a  semblance  of  inde- 
pendent action  is  kept  up,  since  the  people  are  not  publicly 
told  which  way  they  must  vote,  yet  the  bishops  and  ward- 
teachers  manage  to  make  it  understood  very  decidedly  what 
is  expected  of  "  the  Faithful  "  at  the  elections.  The  expecta- 
tions, it  is  perhaps  needless  to  state,  are  always  realized. 

I  have  often  heard  ladies  in  the  East  say  that  they  con- 
sidered Utah  way  in  advance  of  the  age  in  one  respect  at 
least ;  that  there  the  equality  of  the  sexes  was  so  far  re- 
garded that  the  ballot  was  in  the  women's  hands,  and  that 
there  they  had  received  the  right  of  suffrage.  And  I  know 
that  for  this  one  act  Brigham  Young  is  commended  by 
some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  party,  and  he  is 
viewed  by  them  with  a  lenient  eye,  in  spite  of  all  his  other 
acts  of  gross  injustice.  If  these  same  radical  reformers 
only  understood  the  reason  that  the  franchise  was  extended 
to  Utah  women,  and  the  peculiar  "freedom"  and  intelli- 
gence with  which  they  are  allowed  to  exercise  this  privilege, 
I  think  they  would  not  be  so  scathing  in  their  denunciations 
of  the  Poland  bill.  To  the  men  and  women  engaged  in  this 
reform  there  seems  to  be  no  possibility  that  there  can  be 
cases  where  positive  harm  would  ensue  when  the  ballot  was 
given  to  women ;  they  evidently  believe  that  with  universal 
suffrage  will  be  ushered  in  the  millennium. 

It  may  have  that  effect  in  other  portions  of  the  States,  but 
in  polygamous  Utah,  ruled  over  by  a  treacherous  tyrant, 
this  very  right,  which  they  claim  will  loosen  the  legal  and 
political  shackles  by  which  women  are  bound,  and  render 
them  absolutely  free,  only  binds  the  chains  the  tighter  and 
makes  them  greater  slaves  than  ever.  And  the  most  hate- 


94  HOW    BRIGHAM    MAKES    THE    WOMEN    VOTE. 

ful  part  is,  that  they  are  helping  to  tighten  their  own  bonds, 
and  are  doing  it,  too,  under  compulsion. 

The  reason  of  this  wonderful  act  of  "justice"  on  Brigham 
Young's  part  can  easily  be  given.  When  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  was  completed,  and  the  influx  of  miners  and 
other  outsiders  from  the  Gentile  world  began  to  flood  the 
Territory  and  make  homes  for  themselves  in  the  very  midst 
of  Mormondom,  the  chiefs  of  the  Mormon  hierarchy  grew 
very  fearful  and  apprehensive  lest  the  power  should  pass 
from  their  grasp  into  Gentile  hands  by  the  gradual  change 
of  population.  By  adopting  female  suffrage  they  would 
treble  their  voting  power  at  once.  There  was  no  longer 
any  hesitation ;  the  measure  was  adopted,  and  so  general 
and  generous  was  it,  that  in  Utah  to-day  every  person  of  the 
female  sex,  from  the  babe  in  the  arms  to  the  oldest,  bed- 
ridden, imbecile  crone,  has  the  right  of  elective  franchise, 
and  is  compelled  to  use  it. 

To  illustrate  the  intelligence  with  which  women  vote,  and 
the  freedom  of  opinion  in  political  matters  which  is  allowed 
them,  I  think  I  can  do  no  better  than  give  my  own  first 
experience  in  exercising  the  prerogative  of  a  free  woman. 

It  was  the  first  election-day  that  occurred  after  the  right 
of  suffrage  had  been,  not  granted,  but  commanded.  I  was 
standing  in  front  of  my  husband's  office,  talking  with  a 
friend,  when  he  came  out.  His  first  question,  put  before  he 
had  offered  either  myself  or  my  friend  any  greeting,  was,  — 

"  Have  you  voted  to-day  ?  " 

"No,  Brother  Young,  I  have  not." 

"  Then  I  suppose  you  intend  doing  so  at  once." 

"Not  at  all,"  I  replied ;  "  I  have  no  intention  of  voting  at 
all." 

"And  why  not?"  he  asked,  somewhat  angrily. 

"  Because  I  have  not  yet  become  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  the  political  situation  to  understand  what  it  is  best  to 
do,  and  I  prefer  not  to  vote  ignorantly." 

"  But  I  wish  you  to  vote,"  was  his  peremptory  reply. 


HOW    BRIGHAM  S    WIVES    ENJOY    THE    FRANCHISE, 


95 


"Excuse  me,  please,  Brother  Young,"  pleaded  I;  "I 
don't  know  who  or  what  to  vote  for,  and  I  really  had  much 
rather  not."  I  was  quite  in  earnest.  I  did  not  know  any- 
thing then  of  politics,  and  I  must  confess  I  had  no  interest 
in  them. 

"  Get  into  the  carriage,"  com- 
manded he,  so  sternly  that  I 
knew  I  must  obey,  and  further 
parley  would  be  useless.  "I 
want  you  to  vote,  and  at  once. 
Mr.  Rossitur  will  take  you  to 
the  polls  and  tell  you  how  to 
vote." 

Mr.  Rossitur,  to  whose  care 
I  was  committed,  was  Brig- 
ham's  coachman,  and  was  to 
be  my  political  instructor.  All 
the  information  I  gained  will 
never  harm  nor  help  me  very 
materially.  I  was  driven  to  the  polls,  a  ticket  was  handed 
me,  and  hustled  along  without  the  opportunity  of  examining 
it,  and  to  this  day  I  am  in  blissful  ignorance  of  what  or  who 
I  cast  my  only  vote  for.  I  know,  however,  that  among 
other  officers  they  were  electing  a  delegate  to  Congress,  and 
I  suppose  I  must  have  voted  for  George  Q^  Cannon.  There 
is  an  encouraging  and  inspiring  picture  for  the  advocates  of 
female  suffrage,  who  are  jubilant  over  the  triumph  of  their 
cause  in  Utah.  A  polygamous  wife  of  the  President  of  the 
church  conveyed  to  the  polls  by  her  husband's  coachman, 
and  compelled  to  cast  the  vote  he  gives  her  without  an 
opportunity  of  exercising  her  judgment  or  her  choice,  and 
ignorant  even  of  what  she  is  doing.  By  all  means  let  us 
have  the  suffrage  in  Utah,  in  spite  of  Judge  Poland. 

After  the  Council  had  disposed  of  Sidney  Rigdon  to  its 
satisfaction,  and  "all  the  people"  had  signified  theirs  by 
saying  "Amen,"  he  turned  about  and  prepared  to  fight 


MY  FIRST  VOTE. 


96  HOW  THE  "PROFIT"  OF  THE  CHURCH  BEGAN  HIS  REIGN. 

them.  His  resistance,  however,  was  short  and  feeble,  He 
returned  to  Pittsburg,  and  attempted  to  resurrect  the  "  Lat- 
ter-Day  Saints'  Messenger  and  Advocate"  a  Mormon 
publication  that  had  died  some  years  before.  His  attempt 
was  futile,  and  he  gave  up  the  contest  with  his  failure  to 
revive  that  sheet,  and  Mormonism  has  known  little  or  noth- 
ing of  him  since. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Twelve  Apostles  were  to  rule  over 
the  church  until  such  time  as  a  change  in  the  Presidency 
should  seem  necessary.  This  was  Brigham's  first  step,  and 
the  rest  came  easily  and  naturally  enough.  To  all  intents 
and  purposes  he  was  as  much  the  ruler  of  the  Mormons  as 
he  is  now,  although  he  did  not  then  arrogate  so  much  to 
himself.  He  knew  very  well  that  it  would  not  do  to  de- 
clare himself  too  suddenly ;  so  he  quietly  worked  and 
waited  until  he  found  himself  in  the  position  which  he  now 
holds  —  a  position  which  has  never  been  contested  by  his 
followers. 

He  was  always  a  hard  worker,  quite  successful  in  making 
converts,  and  the  steady  determination  of  his  character, 
which  amounted  to  decided  obstinacy,  united  with  a  schem- 
ing cunning,  helped  him  very  much  at  this  period  of  his 
life. 

He  was  shrewd  enough  not  to  attempt,  as  Rigdon  had 
done,  to  play  the  prophet ;  he  knew  very  well  that  in  that 
rOle  he  would  not  meet  success.  He  announced  that  no  one 
should  take  Joseph's  place,  and  to  this  day  he  maintains  to 
those  who  remember  what  he  said  then,  and  contrast  his 
past  assertions  with  his  present  position  as  head  of  the 
church  — "  No  one  can  take  the  place  of  Joseph ;  he  is 
in  his  place  as  the  spiritual  head  of  the  church,  and  will 
always  be  there,  through  time  and  eternity." 

"  I  am  no  prophet  and  revelator,  as  Joseph  was,"  he  used 
to  say  to  the  Saints  :  "  but  Joseph  left  revelations  enough  for 
you  to  follow  for  twenty  years ;  in  the  mean  time,  the  Lord 
will  reveal  Himself  to  those  among  you  whom  He  may 


HE  HAS  AN  EYE  TO  THE  CASH  I  97 

choose  so  to  honor,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should 
not  all  have  revelations." 

But,  revelations  or  not,  one  thing  he  insisted  upon :  that 
was,  that  the  Saints  were  to  "build  the  kingdom  up  for 
Joseph,"  and  that  he  kept  constantly  before  them.  He  next 
proceeded  to  make  the  church  self-sustaining  in  a  pecuniary 
sense.  Each  member  was  to  tithe  himself  or  herself  one 
tenth  of  all  their  property,  and  place  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
*  Twelve  "  for  the  use  of  the  church.  This  tithing  fund  Brig- 
ham  had  absolute  control  of —  a  control  that  he  has  taken 
pains  never  to  lose.  He  instituted  other  w  reforms  "  in  the 
church,  and  everything  he  proposed  the  people  acquiesced 
in  with  a  surprising  readiness.  They  yielded  to  him, 
seemingly,  without  being  aware  that  they  were  yielding, 
and  he  had  his  own  way  without  opposition,  while  the  poor 
deluded  Saints  thought  he  was  carrying  out  their  ideas,  in 
part  at  least.  They  came  under  Brigham's  yoke  without 
knowing  when  they  bent  their  necks  to  receive  it,  and  in  less 
than  six  months  after  the  Prophet's  death  his  mastery  over 
the  church  was  as  assured  as  it  is  to-day. 

7 


CHAPTER  V. 


MY  FATHER'S   PLURAL  WIFE.  — CHILDHOOD   IN 
POLYGAMY. 

Childhood  in  Mormondom.  —  A  striking  Contrast.  —  The  Sorrows  of  my 
Earliest  Years.  —  How  my  Mother  received  Polygamy.  —  Submitting  to 
the  Rod.  —  Clinging  to  Love  and  Home.  —  Resigning  all  for  Religion. 
—  Strange  ways  of  glorifying  God.  —  The  Reward  of  Faithfulness.  — 
The  Prophet  Joseph  imparts  a  New  Religious  Mystery.  —  The  Break- 
ing-up  of  a  Home.  —  Feais  of  Rebellion.  —  The  Struggle  of  Faith 
against  Nature.  —  Seeking  Rest,  but  finding  None.  —  Brigham's  "  Coun- 
sels."—  A  New  Wife  Selected.  —  My  Parents  enter  into  Polygamy. — 
The  New  Bride,  Elizabeth.  —  The  Marriage  Ceremony.  —  My  Mother 
Sealed.  —  She  is  to  become  a  Queen.  —  Domestic  Arrangements  in 
Polygamy.  —  Bearing  the  Cross.  —  A  First  Wife's  Sorrows.  —  "  Where 
does  Polygamy  Hurt?"  —  The  Mormon  Husband;  his  Position  and 
Privileges. 

OFTEN  wonder  if  there 
is    a    child  in    Mormon- 
dom,    born     under    the 
blight  of  polygamy,  who 
knows  what  it  is  to  have 
a    happy,  joyous    child- 
hood,     rendered      more 
happy  and  more  joyous 
by  the  smiling,  calm  con- 
tent   of  the    mother    in 
whose  arms  its  tiny  infant 
form  lies  cradled.     I  fear 
the  cases  are  as  rare  as 
happy  women  are. 
True,  childhood  always  has  a  certain  careless  happiness  of 
its  own,  that  even  the  saddest  surroundings  cannot  wholly 
repress  ;  but  even  this  happiness  is  embittered  by  the  tearful 
eyes  that  gaze  into  trustful  baby  ones,  and  the  lips  that 


RECEIVING    THE    FIRST    PLURAL    WIFE.  99 

quiver  with  pain,  as  they  try  to  smile  back  into  laughing 
baby  faces. 

In  the  happy  homes  which  I  have  visited  since  I  broke 
the  chains  that  bound  me,  and  came  forth  a  free  woman, 
unshackled  in  thought  and  untrammelled  in  action,  although 
a  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  with  no  abiding-place 
where  to  stay  my  weary  feet,  I  have  been  compelled  to  con- 
trast the  difference  between  childhood  in  a  monogamic 
country  and  in  a  polygamous  one ;  and  when  I  have  seen 
the  mother's  face  grow  almost  divine  in  its  radiant  con- 
tent as  she  smiled  down  into  the  face  of  the  little  one 
sheltered  so  closely  in  her  heart,  I  have  felt  my  heart  throb 
and  ache  with  jealous  anguish  for  the  liftle  ones  in  Utah, 
and  above  all  for  their  weary-hearted  mothers,  to  whom 
maternity  brings  no  such  joy,  and  added  love,  and  tender 
care. 

I  was  consecrated  to  sorrow  by  the  baptism  of  my  moth- 
er's tears  upon  my  baby  brow.  I  never  remember  on  her 
face  one  such  look  as  I  see  daily  upon  mothers'  faces  now. 
My  baby  hands  wiped  away  tears,  my  baby  fingers  stroked 
a  cheek  furrowed  by  them,  and  my  baby  eyes  never  saw 
beyond  the  mist  in  hers.  I  came  to  her  when  the  greatest 
misery  of  her  life  was  about  to  fall  upon  her ;  and  that 
misery  came  to  her,  as  it  came  to  all  the  women  then,  un- 
der the  guise  of  religion  —  something  that  must  be  endured 
"for  Christ's  sake."  And  as  her  religion  had  brought  her 
nothing  but  persecution  and  sacrifice,  she  submitted  to  this 
new  trial  as  to  everything  that  had  preceded  it,  and  re- 
ceived polygamy  as  a  cross  laid  upon  her,  but  which 
strength  would  be  given  her  to  bear. 

She  had  never  questioned  any  of  Joseph  Smith's  "reve- 
lations," and  she  did  not  dare  do  so  now,  although  this  one 
came  to  her  like  a  sudden  and  heavy  blow,  hurting  heart  and 
soul,  and  rendering  the  thought  of  life  unendurable.  Hith- 
erto, although  her  sufferings  had  been  severe,  and  her  pri- 
vations many,  yet  through  them  all  she  had  been  sustained 


100  LIVING    UP   TO    HIS    PRIVILEGES. 

by  her  husband's  love.  That  was  hers,  and  together  they 
had  shared  poverty  and  tasted  plenty.  Their  sufferings 
had  brought  them  closer  together,  and  whether  in  plenty 
or  poverty,  they  had  been  happy  in  each  other  and  in  their 
children,  and  had  made  a  home,  and  a  cheerful  one, 
wherever  they  had  been,  one  in  which  the  spirit  of  love 
ruled  supreme.  Now,  her  religion  told  her  that  she  was 
selfish  and  wicked  to  try  and  keep  this  home  and  husband. 
The  one  must  be  broken  and  desolated,  the  other  shared 
with  some  one  else.  "The  Lord  commanded  it."  What  a 
blasphemy  and  satire  on  Him  who  is  the  God  of  Love, 
that  He  should  make  His  children  unhappy,  and  wreck 
all  hopes  of  peace  and  content,  for  His  glory  !  It  seems  as 
though  this  one  act  of  Smith's  alone  should  have  opened 
the  eyes  of  this  deluded  people,  and  shown  them  that  their 
false  Prophet  was  not  taught  of  God,  as  he  pretended,  and 
they  so  fondly  believed,  but  that  he  was  impelled  by  the 
demons  of  covetousness  and  lust.  But  their  eyes  were 
blinded,  and  they  could  not  see  ;  their  reason  was  inthralled, 
and  they  did  not  know  it  was  bound  ;  their  wills  were  obe- 
dient to  his,  and  he  held  them  soul  and  body,  and  played 
with  them  as  though  they  were  so  many  puppets,  helpless 
and  lifeless  out  of  his  hands. 

Being  accounted  among  the  specially  "  faithful,"  my  par- 
ents were  among  the  first  to  whom  polygamy  was  taught 
by  Joseph  Smith  himself,  and  my  father  was  commanded 
by  him  to  "  live  up  to  his  privileges,"  and  to  take  another 


At  first,  the  thought  of  taking  a  second  wife  to  share  his 
home  with  the  one  whom  he  had  first  loved,  who  had  been 
the  object  of  his  youthful  dreams  and  of  his  manhood's 
devotion  ;  who  had  stood  by  him,  through  every  reverse, 
with  the  courage,  and  consideration,  and  love  which  only  a 
strong-natured,  tender-hearted,  earnest-souled  woman  could 
show  under  such  circumstances  ;  who  was,  in  every  sense, 
a  helpmeet,  and,  above  all,  the  mother  of  his  children,  —  was 


hateful  to  him.  It  took  a  long  time,  too,  to  overcome  his 
aversion  to  the  new  system.  He  and  my  mother  had  many 
a  long,  tearful  talk  over  it ;  and  although  they  received  the 
doctrine,  believing  that  it  must  be  right,  they  could  not  for 
some  time  make  up  their  minds  to  put  it  in  practice.  In 
the  mean  time  Joseph  was  assassinated,  and  for  a  little  time 
they  were  left  to  each  other  in  peace.  But  Brigham  Young 
was  bound  to  carry  out  Joseph's  revelations,  and  this  one 
relating  to  the  plural  wife  system  was  strongly,  though  se- 
cretly, urged  upon  the  Saints.  Both  my  father  and  mother 
were  visited  by  Brigham,  and  "  counselled  "  in  regard  to 
the  matter.  My  mother  has  often  said  that  the  "  Revelation  " 
was  the  most  hateful  thing  in  the  world  to  her,  and  she 
dreaded  and  abhorred  it,  but  she  was  afraid  to  oppose  it, 
lest  she  should  be  found  "  righting  against  the  Lord."  The 
thought  that  she  might  be  obliged  to  live  in  a  polygamous 
relation  with  another  woman  rilled  her  with  horror  and  fear ; 
but  she  was  assured  by  her  religious  leader,  that  the  feel- 
ing was  merely  the  effect  of  her  early  training,  which  she 
would  soon  outgrow  under  the  benign  influences  of  the 
gospel.  For  several  months  she  struggled  with  herself  over 
this  subject,  before  she  could  think  patiently  of  it  for  even  a 
minute.  She  wanted  to  have  it  made  easy  and  plain  to 
her,  for  she  could  not  bear  to  repudiate  any  of  her  beloved 
Prophet's  teachings.  She  agonized  over  it  day  and  night; 
she  prayed  incessantly  to  be  given  the  true  "  spirit "  of  sub- 
mission ;  if  it  was  God's  will,  she  wanted  strength  to  endure 
it ;  and  she  believed  she  should  have  it,  for  surely  the  kind 
and  loving  Father  would  not  impose  upon  his  children  bur- 
dens greater  than  they  could  bear.  She  had  not  learned, 
as  she  has  since,  that  the  God  of  the  Mormon  belief  was 
not  the  heavenly  Father  whose  love  the  Saviour  taught,  but 
a  jealous  God,  a  cruel,  avenging  Spirit,  who  demanded 
blood-offerings  to  appease  his  awakened  wrath.  He  was 
not  the  tender  Parent,  all-wise,  all-powerful,  and  all-lov- 
ing, whom  she  reverenced  and  adored.  There  was  little 


IO2  ELIZABETH. 

use  in  looking  towards  her  people's  God  for  help  or  com- 
fort. Retribution,  and  justice  untempered  by  mercy,  were 
all  He  had  for  His  subjects,  not  children. 

During  all  these  months  of  wavering  doubt  and  untold 
misery,  my  father  never  attempted  to  influence  my  mother's 
decision  in  the  least ;  she  had  .her  battle  to  fight,  and  he 
his ;  the  end  was  inevitable  for  both ;  but  for  all  this  the 
contest  was  no  less  severe.  Brigham's  "counselling"  be- 
gan to  assume  the  form  of  commands,  which  at  last  grew 
so  imperative  that  they  were  obliged  to  be  obeyed.  My 
mother  did  not  rebel ;  she  looked  upon  it  as  duty,  and  she 
was  determined  to  do  it  silently  and  uncomplainingly,  if 
not  willingly  and  cheerfully.  My  parents  consulted  to- 
gether regarding  the  choice  of  the  new  wife,  and  fixed 
upon  the  person  with  surprising  unanimity.  They  were 
each  anxious  to  help  and  comfort  the  other  in  this  as  they 
had  been  in  every  other  emergency  of  their  lives.  My 
father  wished,  if  he  must  take  another  wife,  to  choose  one 
who  should  be  agreeable  to  my  mother,  or  rather  as  agree- 
able as  one  woman  could  be  to  another  under  such  circum- 
stances ;  and  my  mother  was,  for  her  part,  equally  deter- 
mined not  to  oppose  him  in  his  selection.  But  opposition 
was  not  necessary,  as  his  choice  fell  upon  the  very  person 
whom  my  mother  would  have  selected,  had  the  task 
rested  with  her  alone. 

A  short  time  after  my  birth,  a  Miss  Elizabeth  Taft  came, 
with  a  younger  sister,  to  live  in  our  house.  She  was  a 
very  pleasant,  cheery,  affectionate  person,  and  all  the  fam- 
ily became  very  much  attached  to  her.  Father,  mother, 
children,  all  quoted  "Elizabeth,"  and  she  became  almost 
a  part  of  our  very  selves.  She  was  thoughtful  of  my 
mother,  and  tender  to  us  little  ones,  petting  us  and  indul- 
ging us  in  our  childish  whims,  and  we,  in  return,  loved 
her  very  dearly.  She  was  a  good  woman  in  its  highest 
interpretation,  and  devotedly  religious.  Naturally  enough, 
seeing  her  so  constantly,  both  my  parents  thought  of  her 


FOR    TIME    AND    ETERNITY.  103 

as  the  new  wife.  If  they  must  enter  polygamy,  they  knew 
they  could  do  no  better  than  to  take  her  into  the  family,  if 
she  could  be  induced  to  consider  the  subject  in  the  same 
light.  My  father  made  proposals  to  her,  and  my  mother 
seconded  them.  The  thought  of  living  in  a  polygamic  rela- 
tion with  any  one  was  very  unpleasant  to  her,  as  indeed  it 
is  to  every  true  woman  ;  but  she  desired  to  live  her  religion, 
and  believing  this  to  be  a  part  of  it,  accepted  my  father's 
proposal,  and  became  his  first  plural  wife  when  I  was  about 
a  year  old. 

Her  parents  were  in  Michigan  at  the  time,  'and  Elizabeth 
wished  to  wait  until  their  arrival ;  but  Brigham,  who,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  was  interested  in  the  affair,  counselled 
the  marriage  to  proceed,  and  of  course  it  was  considered 
right  and  prudent  to  obey  his  counsel ;  and  as  he  was  hur- 
rying forward  the  endowments  in  the  Nauvoo  Temple,  pre- 
paratory to  leaving  for  the  West,  the  parties  most  nearly 
concerned  in  the  matter  thought  it  best  to  hasten  the  nup- 
tials. 

My  mother  was  to  be  "sealed"  at  the  same  time,  as,  ac- 
cording to  Joseph's  Revelation,  her  former  marriage,  having 
been  performed  in  the  Gentile  form,  was  not  binding.  The 
place  of  sealing  was  the  Temple ;  and  there,  one  midwin- 
ter day,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1846,  my  mother  was 
sealed  to  my  father  for  "time  and  for  all  eternity,"  after  which 
she  gave  him  Elizabeth  as  his  wife  according  to  the  Mor- 
mon marriage  formula.  It  was  with  a  steady  voice  and 
calm  composure  that  she  pronounced  the  words  that  gave 
another  woman  a  share  in  her  husband's  love ;  but  it  was 
none  the  less  with  a  heavy,  breaking  heart.  Think  of  it, 
wives,  who  are  happy  in  undivided  homes,  and  in  your 
husbands'  unshared  love  !  What  if  your  religion  com- 
manded you  to  give  another  woman  to  your  husband  as  a 
wife  ;  who  was  to  have  an  equal  right  with  you  to  his  at- 
tention and  his  love ;  who  should  bear  his  name,  and  be  a 
mother  to  his  children ;  that  all  this  should  be  done  "  in  the 


104  BEAUTIES    OF    THE 

name  of  the  Lord,"  and  without  shrinking  or  complaint  on 
your  part.  Take  this  home  to  yourself,  and  you  will  be 
able  to  appreciate  as  never  before  the  horrors  of  Mor- 
monism: 

It  was  in  January  that  my  father  obeyed  the  "  counsel  "  of 
his  Prophet  and  leader,  and  in  March  his  new  wife's  par- 
ents returned,  and  were  shocked  and  grieved  beyond  meas- 
ure to  find  their  daughter  married  into  polygamy  ;  yet,  being 
strong  in  the  faith,  and  much  attached  to  their  church  and 
their  religion,  submitted  without  a  murmur,  like  the  good 
Saints  they  were. 

My  mother  was  so  quiet  and  uncomplaining  in  the  posi- 
tion which  she  had  voluntarily  assumed,  that  she  was  praised 
by  the  officious  brethren  and  sisters  for  submitting  with 
such  good  grace,  and  was  told  by  them  that  great  glory 
awaited  her  as  a  reward,  and  also,  as  she  had  so  readily 
made  the  great  sacrifice,  she  would  always  be  recognized 
as  the  first  wife,  which,  among  the  Mormons,  is  considered 
an  exceeding  great  honor.  One  of  the  sisters,  who  was  a 
strong  advocate  of  the  new  "  Celestial  "  system,  said  to  her  : 

"  You  will  stand  at  the  head  of  your  husband's  kingdom 
as  a  queen ;  no  one  can  ever  take  your  place  from  you,  but 
you  will  be  honored  to  stand  by  his  side  through  the  endless 
ages  of  eternity."  It  was  by  such  nonsensical  talk  and 
absurd  promises  as  these  that  the  Mormon  leaders  tried 
to  make  polygamy  attractive  to  the  women  who  were  al- 
ready married,  and  render  them  more  willing  to  enter  it. 
Such  absurdities  may  have  weight  with  some  women,  but 
they  did  not  affect  my  mother,  nor  render  the  cross  she  had 
assumed  any  more  easy  to  bear.  Her  husband's  undivided 
love  during  time  was  better  than  royal  honors  in  eternity. 

The  new  wife  lived  in  the  family,  and  to  outward  appear- 
ance everything  was  unchanged.  Only  a  few  of  the  "very 
faithful "  knew  of  the  new  arrangement ;  it  was  deemed 
best  to  keep  it  a  secret  from  the  majority  of  the  people,  to 
whom  polygamy  was  not  a  fixed  fact,  and  who  were  waver- 


"DON'T  you  BELIEVE  IN  POLYGAMY?"  105 

ing  slightly  in  the  faith  on  account  of  it.  The  time  had 
not  yet  come  to  promulgate  the  doctrine  freely,  and  many 
left  Nauvoo  for  the  West  quite  ignorant  that  the  system 
really  existed  in  their  midst.  I  think  many  of  them  never 
would  have  crossed  those  endless  plains,  and  sought  shelter 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  had  they  known 
what  unhappiness  awaited  them.  But  unchanged  as  our 
family  circle  was  to  those  outside  it,  within  was  unhappi- 
ness and  bitterness  of  spirit.  It  was  much  harder  to  endure, 
even,  than  my  mother  had  anticipated.  Terrible  as  was 
the  thought,  the 'reality  was  much  more  horrible.  She 
thought  she  had  counted  the  cost ;  she  found  she  had,  in 
her  ignorance,  been  unable  to  estimate  it.  Every  hour  of 
her  life  her  heart  was  torn  by  some  new  agony.  She  was 
compelled  to  see  many  of  the  tender,  wifely  little  offices, 
trifles  in  themselves,  that  she  had  been  accustomed  to  per- 
form, done  by  other  hands,  and  she  herself  always  turned 
off  with  the  excuse,  "You  see,  dear,  you  have  the  children 
to  attend  to,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  give  you  trouble." 
Trouble  !  as  though  anything  done  for  him,  with  a  heart 
full  of  love,  could  be  accounted  as  such  !  That  hurt  her 
almost  as  much  as  to  see  another  doing  what  it  had  always 
been  her  delight  to  do. 

As  is  the  custom  of  men  in  polygamy,  my  father  fell  more 
easily  into  the  new  arrangement,  and  even  found  a  certain 
comfort  and  content  in  it,  and  he  wondered  very  much  that 
my  mother  could  not  be  happy  as  well.  Indeed,  he  was  a 
little  impatient,  after  a  while,  that  she  would  not  say  she 
was  content  and  satisfied  in  the  new  relation. 

"  I  don't  understand  it,"  he  would  say  ;  "you  were  willing 
at  first.  What  is  the  difficulty  now?  Don't  you  think  Eliza- 
beth a  good,  true  girl?" 

"Yes,  indeed,"  was  always  the  reply  ;  for  my  mother  was 
too  just  a  woman  to  do  even  a  rival  a  wrong. 

"Don't  you  believe  in  polygamy,  then?"  he  would  ask, 
determined  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  mystery. 


IO6        THE    MORMON    MOTHER    AND    HER    BABY    GIRL. 

"Yes,  I  suppose  so.  I  wish  to  live  my  religion,"  was  the 
dreary  reply. 

"  Well,  what  is  to  be  done  about  it?  "  was  the  next  anxious 
question. 

"  O,  I  don't  know,"  my  mother  would  say,  in  bitter  de- 
spair;  "but  I  can't  endure  this  life." 

"And  yet  you  entered  it  voluntarily.  I  don't  understand 
you ;  you  are  strangely  inconsistent." 

Her  remonstrance  and  his  comfort  never  went  beyond 
this  point.  There  was  nothing  more  to  be  said.  She  had 
protested  with  unutterable  anguish  against  the  life  that  she 
felt  was  false  and  in  direct  contradiction  to  every  law  of 
moral  right,  although  she  was  told  to  look  upon  it  as  "  di- 
vine ;  "  and  the  only  answer  she  could  get  was,  "You  are 
inconsistent ;  you  entered  the  relation  voluntarily."  The 
very  truth  of  this  reply  silenced  her,  but  it  did  not  make 
her  burdens  any  lighter  or  easier  to  bear. 

She  saw  that  patient  endurance  was  all  that  was  required 
of  her,  and  all  she  could  give.  Her  husband  was  hers  no 
longer ;  she  herself  had  given  another  woman  the  same 
right  to  his  care  that  she  had  ;  and  now  she  turned  to  all  that 
was  left  her  in  life  that  she  could  call  her  own  —  her  chil- 
dren. Had  it  not  been  for  us  she  would  have  prayed  to 
die.  I  was  the  baby,  and  she  has  said  that  at  that  time  I 
was  the  strongest  tie  which  held  her  to  life.  If  it  had  not 
been  for  me,  lying  helpless  in  her  arms,  she  would  have 
taken  her  life  into  her  own  hands,  and  put  an  end  to  it  then 
and  there.  But  she  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  leaving 
me,  her  only  daughter,  — her  baby  girl,  —  alone  and  un- 
shielded by  a  mother's  care.  My  brothers,  who  were  quite 
large  boys  at  that  time,  she  thought  would  not  miss  her,  nor 
need  her  so  much ;  and  many  a  time  she  has  knelt  with  me 
clasped  fast  in  her  arms,  the  tears  falling  on  my  wondering 
face,  and  prayed  frantically  that  we  both  might  die.  The 
thought  that  she  had  brought  a  girl  into  the  world  to  suffer 
as  she  was  now  suffering,  to  find  her  whole  life's  happiness 


WDO    YOU    THINK    I    HAVE    NO    TRIALS? 


107 


made  a  wreck  by  the  religion  which  should  be  a  stay  and 
a  comfort,  drove  her  almost  wild.  She  had  buried  one 
little  girl,  and  I  have  often  heard  her  thank  God  that  He 
had  taken  her  to  Himself  before  life  became  a  terrible  bit- 
terness and  burden.  She  often  says,  in  referring  to  her 
sufferings  at  that  time,  and  the  desperate  state  she  was  in, 
she  wonders  she  did  not  commit  suicide ;  what  kept  her 
from  it  she  cannot  tell  to  this  day,  unless  the  thought  that 
these  polygamous  relations  did  not  end  with  time,  but  were 
carried  on  through  all  eternity. 

She  had  to  keep  a  double  guard  on  her  tongue  and  on 
her  actions.  She  did  not  like  to  vex  her  husband,  and 
neither  did  she  wish  to  grieve  the  young  wife,  whose  position 
was  no  pleasanter  than  her  own.  Besides,  a  husband  in 
polygamy  is  very  sensitive  regarding  the  treatment  of  the 
last  wife  by  those  who  have  preceded  her,  and  she  knew 
that  no  act  of  hers  would  escape  her  husband's  notice,  even 
had  she  been  inclined  to  ill-treat  her  rival. 


DO   YOU    THINK    /  HAVE   NO   TRIALS? 


Once,  very  mildly  and  kindly,  she  tried  to  tell  some  of 
her  troubles  to  Elizabeth,  and  begged  her  not  to  add  to  her 
sorrow  by  bestowing  so  many  marks  of  affection  on  my 
father  in  her  presence.  The  young  wife  turned  on  her 
quickly,  and  demanded,  bitterly,  — 


108  EVEN   WORSE    THAN    I    THOUGHT. 

"  Do  you  think  /  have  no  trials  ?  " 

"God  forgive  me,  and  help  us  both  ;  I  know  you  have? 
was  my  mother's  quick  and  sympathetic  answer. 

-After  all,  what  could  she  say  or  do?  She  had  influenced 
the  girl  quite  as  much  as  my  father  had,  believing  she  was 
only  doing  what  was  right,  and  that  the  act,  hard  as  it  was, 
would  bring  its  own  blessing  with  it.  Instead,  it  brought 
what  polygamy  always  does  bring  —  the  curse  of  a  wrecked 
home  and  a  life's  unhappiness. 

A  gentleman  visiting  Salt  Lake  City  for  the  first  time 
once  asked  me  where  polygamy  hurt  the  most. 

"It  hurts  all  over,  body  and  soul,  mind  and  heart,"  was 
my  reply.  "I  can't  tell  a  spot  that  it  does  not  hurt." 

"It  is  even  worse  than  I  thought,"  he  replied,  with  a 
shudder. 

The  reply  which  I  gave  then  I  would  give  again.  Never, 
until  a  woman  ceases  to  love  her  husband,  can  polygamy 
cease  to  be  anything  but  a  series  of  cruel  stings,  alike  to 
pride  and  conscience. 

I  have  tried  to  portray  a  little  something  of  the  misery 
that  fell  upon  our  family  by  the  introduction  of  polygamy 
into  it,  but  I  have  utterly  failed  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of 
it.  No  pen  can  possibly  depict  the  heart-breaking  suffer- 
ings that  are  endured  by  women  in  this  relation,  and  no  one 
can  imagine  or  understand  them  who  has  not  experienced 
them.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  all  this  unhappiness,  we  were 
accounted  a  model  family,  and  were  pointed  out  as  the  best 
exponents  of  the  system.  "They  are  so  united  !  "  was  the 
admiring  verdict.  This  was  due  a  great  deal  to  my  moth- 
er's exertions  and  her  conscientiousness.  Having  taken 
this  new  mode  of  life  as  a  religious  duty,  she  was  deter- 
mined not  to  be  found  wanting  in  readiness  to  perform 
whatever  it  required  of  her.  A  happy,  contented  spirit 
she  could  not  give ;  but  she  could  show  patience,  long-suf- 
fering, and  a  calm,  though  by  no  means  cheerful,  face  and 
manner. 


MEN    GET    THE    BEST    OF    IT. 

Then,  my  father  was  very  just  in^he  treatment  of  his 
wives.  One  did  not  fare  better  than  the  other  in  any  re- 
respect.  If  he  purchased  an  article  of  wearing  apparel  for 
one,  he  got  its  counterpart  for  the  other;  in  every  par- 
ticular they  shared  alike.  His  position  was  by  no  means 
an  enviable  one ;  still  it  was  preferable  to  that  of  either  of 
his  wives.  Men,  as  I  said  before,  always  get  the  best  of  it 
in  polygamy,  and  always  become  more  easily  reconciled  to 
it  than  do  the  women.  At  meetings  and  all  social  assem- 
blies, my  father  appeared  with  both  wives,  and  they  de- 
ferred to  each  other  in  the  most  charming  way,  both  of  them 
being  too  sensible  and  too  proud  to  show  the  slightest  feeling 
where  it  might  be  commented  on.  Then,  too,  in  spite  of 
the  natural  bitterness  of  feeling  between  them,  there  was  a 
mutual  respect  and  regard  between  them,  and  each  was  too 
just  to  lay  her  troubles  at  the  door  of  the  other.  Had  these 
two  women,  with  their  generous  natures  and  firm  princi- 
ples, met  on  any  other  ground,  they  would  not  only  have 
"  got  along  "  amiably  and  quietly  as  they  did,  but  they 
would  have  been  warm,  earnest  friends,  and  the  respectful 
regard  would  have  grown  into  positive  affection.  As  it 
was,  they  had  nothing  but  kind  words  for  each  other,  my 
mother,  especially,  pitying  the  young  wife  as  she  did  her- 
self. Elizabeth  was  still  kind  to  us  children,  and  gained 
the  love  which  she  has  held  ever  since,  and  which  she  fully 
deserved.  Still  the  introduction  of  polygamy  into  our 
midst  was  not  a  pleasant  thing,  and  we  little  ones,  even, 
felt  instinctively  its  baleful  influence. 

But  we  were  to  be  diverted  from  the  contemplation  of  its 
miseries  by  a  new  and  absorbing  excitement.  The  Mor- 
mon people  were  again  compelled  to  move,  leaving  their 
beautiful  new  city  in  the  "  defiled  hands  "  of  the  Gentiles ; 
and  in  the  very  midst  of  our  first  family  trouble  and  unhap- 
piness  came  the  command  to  seek  another  Zion,  since  this 
could  no  longer  be  a  shelter  for  the  Saints. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FORSAKING    DEAR    ZION.  —  WE   FIND   A  NEW  HOME    IN 
THE   FAR   WEST. 

A  New  Home  in  the  West.  —  Dangerous  Neighbors.  —  Some  very  Un- 
pleasant Stories.  —  Seeking  a  New  Home.  — Preparing  to  Depart.  — 
Life  at  Winter-Quarters.  —  A  Lively  Time  in  the  Temple.  —  "Little 
Dancin'  Missy."  —  Bound  for  Salt  Lake  Valley.  —  Life  by  the  Way.  — 
Songs  of  the  Saints.  —  A  False  Prophecy.  — "  The  Upper  California."  — 
Saintly  Profanity. — A  Soul-stirring  Melody.  —  The  Saints  Excited. — 
Beside  the  Camp-Fires.  —  The  Journey  Ending.  —  Entering  Zion.  — 
The  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 

N  the  spring  of  1846  our 
family  left  Nauvoo,  with 
the  large  body  of  the 
Saints,  to  find  a  new  home 
in  the  West.  The  Mor- 
mon people  had  become 
quite  as  unpopular  in  Illi- 
nois as  they  had  been  in 
u  Missouri ;  and  collisions 
between  them  and  the 
Gentiles  were  very  fre- 
quent. 

Sometimes  it  was  one 
side  that  was  the  aggressor,  sometimes  the  other.  The 
Saints  were  indignant  at  the  treachery  which  resulted  in 
Joseph  Smith's  death.  They  held  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment responsible  for  it,  as  well  as  for  the  troubles  in 
Missouri,  and  taught  disloyalty  to  the  government,  and  per- 
sonal revenge  on  all  who  molested  them. 

The  people  of  Illinois,  in  their  turn,  regarded  the  Mor- 
mons as  dangerous  neighbors,  and  getting  a  hint  of  the 
new  doctrine  of  polygamy,  looked  upon  them  as  grossly 


FLIGHT    TO    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  Ill 

immoral,  and  accused  them  of  much  greater  crimes  than 
they  really  committed.  All  sorts  of  horrible  rumors  were 
rife,  and  the  indignation  of  the  people  outside  knew  no 
bounds. 

The  Mormon  people  realized,  very  soon  after  Joseph's 
death,  that  they  must  seek  a  new  home,  and  they  looked 
with  a  feeling  of  positive  relief  to  the  unexplored  region  be- 
yond the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  believed  that  there  they 
would  find  a  realization  of  all  that  had  been  promised  them 
by  their  murdered  Prophet.  At  least  they  would  be  be- 
yond all  interference  and  molestation,  and  after  all  they 
had  suffered,  they  did  not  care  how  much  space  they  put 
between  themselves  and  the  Gentile  world. 

All  through  the  winter  of  1845  and  '46,  my  father  was 
very  busy  building  wagons  for  the  purpose  of  transporting 
the  Saints  and  their  property  to  their  new  and  yet  unknown 
home  ;  for  their  destination  was  not  definitely  known  to  any 
of  them  at  that  time.  The  Apostle  Taylor  advocated  Cali- 
fornia, and,  indeed,  announced  that  it  would  be  the  Saints' 
objective  point  when  they  should  leave  Nauvoo.  He  wrote 
an  emigration  song  about  it,  and  all  the  way  from  Nauvoo 
to  Winter-Quarters,  some  of  the  emigrating  party  were 
tunefully  averring,  — 

"  The  Upper  California,  O,  that's  the  land  for  me  ! " 

Yet,  in  spite  of  Taylor's  prophecy  and  the  saintly  singing 
of  it,  they  never  reached  California. 

It  mattered  little  to  me,  at  that  period  of  my  existence, 
where  we  went.  Home  was  home  wherever  my  mother 
was,  whether  it  was  east,  west,  or  camping  on  the  prairies 
between.  Of  course  I  remember  but  little  respecting  the 
exodus  of  the  Saints  from  Nauvoo ;  still  there  are  indis- 
tinct recollections  of  things  that  happened  as  early  as  that 
which  sometimes  cross  my  mind,  although  they  are  very 
dim.  My  first  distinct  remembrance  was  of  Winter-Quar- 
ters, which  were  then  where  Council  Bluffs  now  stands. 


H2  "LITTLE  DANCIN'  MISSY." 

My  father  built  a  log-house  there,  and  we  were  compar- 
atively comfortable.  Our  family  consisted  of  my  father, 
mother,  two  brothers,  myself,  and  Elizabeth,  the  new  wife. 
We  were  together  nearly  all  the  time,  but  when  my  father 
went  into  Missouri  to  work  a  while  at  his  business,  and  get 
a  little  money  ahead  to  take  us  to"  our  new  home,  and  set- 
tle us,  he  took  my  mother,  my  younger  brother,  and  my- 
self, leaving  Elizabeth  —  the  new  wife  —  and  my  oldest 
brother  at  Winter-Quarters. 

Notwithstanding  the  facts  of  the  enforced  emigration, 
the  uncertainty  of  their  future,  and  sacrifices  they  had  been 
compelled  to  make,  the  migrating  Mormons  were  not  an 
unhappy  party,  and  they  managed  to  make  their  stay  in 
Winter-Quarters  lively,  if  not  merry.  As  a  people,  they 
have  always  mixed  amusement  with  their  religion  in  the 
most  amusing  manner.  Dancing  was  a  favorite  recrea- 
tion with  them,  and  all  their  balls  were  commenced  with 
prayer.  That  custom,  by  the  way,  is  still  continued,  and 
the  blessing  of  ft  the  Lord  "  invoked  at  every  dancing  party 
which  takes  place  in  Mormondom.  The  Temple  at  Nau- 
voo  (I  have  heard)  was  used  for  dancing  parties,  and 
it  was  then  given  out  that  the  exercise  was  a  religious 
one.  It  was  taught  to  the  Saints  that  recreation  was 
positively  necessary.  Everybody  dances  among  the  Saints 
—  president,  counsellors,  apostles,  elders,  and  all;  and 
they  dance  with  an  unction,  too,  that  is  very  amusing,  and 
frequently  ridiculous. 

It  was  while  on  the  way  to  Salt  Lake,  when  I  was  only 
about  three  years  old,  that  I  learned  to  dance.  It  was 
when  I  was  living  in  Missouri  that  I  had  my  first  lessons. 
Dancing  was  the  common  amusement  there,  and  I  re- 
member the  negroes  used  to  play.  I  was  active  and 
lithe,  and  very  ready  at  imitations,  and  had,  besides,  a 
quick  ear  for  music.  I  was  petted  by  everybody,  and  the 
negro  musicians  took  a  special  fancy  to  "little  dancin' 


A    BRIGHT    GLEAM    IN    NIGHTS    DARKNESS.  113 

missy,"  and  they  taught  me  several  negro  dances,  which  I 
used  to  execute  to  the  intense  delight  of  my  sable  instruct- 
ors, and  the  amusement  of  my  friends. 

That  winter,  in  Missouri,  is  one  of  the  bright  spots  in 
my  childhood,  to  which  I  am  especially  fond  of  looking 
back.  It  is,  indeed,  the  only  really  happy  time  I  can  recol- 
lect. My  father  was  busy  most  of  the  time,  and  we  lived 
very  pleasantly  and  comfortably,  for  that  section  of  the 
country  at  that  early  day ;  my  mother  was  more  cheerful 
than  I  had  ever  known  her  to  be,  and  the  atmosphere  of 
our  home  was  peaceful.  The  second  wife  had  been  left  at 
Council  Bluffs,  and  my  mother  had  her  husband's  sole  care 
and  attention,  as  she  had  had  it  in  the  old  days  before  the 
curse  of  polygamy  was  thrust  upon  her  to  embitter  her  whole 
life,  and  rob  her  of  all  that  a  woman  holds  most  dear,  and 
guards  most  jealously.  Its  shadow  was  over  her  still,  and 
she  knew  she  could  not  escape  from  it;  but  she  would  take 
what  comfort  she  could,  and  think  no  more  of  past  or  future 
sufferings  than  she  could  possibly  help. 

In  1847  a  party  of  the  Saints  left  Winter-Quarters  for 
the  Salt  Lake  Valley.  My  parents  had  intended  to  accom- 
pany them,  but  my  father  was  obliged  to  remain  on  account 
of  business,  and  to  assist  in  the  final  departure  of  the  main 
body  of  the  church.  Brigham  Young  and  his  family  went, 
necessarily,  with  the  first  party.  Brigham  was  now  absolute 
in  authority,  and  he  managed  the  affairs  of  the  Saints  so 
arbitrarily  that  no  one  dreamed  of  interfering  with  him,  or 
gainsaying  him  in  the  least.  He  decreed  that  my  father 
should  remain  at  Winter-Quarters,  and  as  a  matter  of 
course  he  obeyed.  We  were  there  another  winter,  and 
all  the  while  my  mother's  heart  was  setting  most  strongly 
Ziomvard. 

It  was  the  4th  of  May,  1848,  when  at  last  we  were  fairly 

started  for  our  Rocky-Mountain  home.     The  hearts  of  all 

the  people  were  filled  with  eager  anticipation,  and  they  said 

"good-bye"  cheerfully  and  heartily  to  the  civilized  world, 

8 


PICKING    FLOWERS    BY    THE    WAY. 

in  which  were  centred  all  the  memories  of  their  past,  and 
turned  gladly  towards  that  unknown  country  beyond  the 
wild  plains  and  pathless  deserts  in  which  were  all  the  hopes 
of  their  future. 

My  father  took  provisions  that  would  last  a  year,  by 
practising  economy,  and  we  had  two  wagons  and  three 
yoke  of  oxen  ;  there  were  six  of  us  in  the  family  —  our  own 
selves  and  Elizabeth.  We  joined  with  a  train  of  two  hun- 
dred wagons,  which  was  afterwards  divided  into  compa- 
nies of  fifties.  I  suppose  the  journey  must  have  been  a 
tiresome  one  to  the  older  members  of  the  party,  but  I  en- 
joyed it  extremely.  I  ran  along,  during  a  portion  of  the 
day,  by  the  side  of  the  wagons,  picking  the  flowers  by  the 
way,  and  talking  to  the  different  members  of  the  train,  for 
I  knew  everybody,  and  was  petted  almost  as  much  by  my 
fellow-travellers  as  I  had  been  by  my  negro  friends  in  Mis- 
souri. It  is  a  wonder  that  I  was  not  completely  spoiled ;  I 
daresay  I  should  have  been,  had  it  not  been  for  my  moth- 
er's sensible  and  judicious  training.  I  was  her  idol,  the 
one  object  for  which  she  cared  the  most  in  the  world ;  but 
for  all  that,  she  ruled  me  wonderfully,  and  I  yielded  her  the 
most  implicit  obedience,  while  giving  her  the  most  passion- 
ate childish  love  and  devotion. 

I  remember  her  so  distinctly  on  this  journey  !  She  occu- 
pied herself  a  great  deal  with  writing,  keeping  a  literal 
transcript  of  all  that  befell  us  on  our  journey,  mingled  with 
the  deepest  religious  meditation  and  poetic  fancies.  She 
always  wrote  in  a  large  book,  which  she  afterwards  de- 
stroyed, when  we  arrived  at  Salt  Lake  City.  I  have  always 
regretted  the  destruction  of  that  book,  as  I  should  have 
liked  it  as  a  souvenir  of  that  journey  to  the  rt  Promised 
Land."  But  she  was  so  shy  of  having  her  feelings  known, 
and  so  fearful  lest  it  might  fall  into  some  person's  hands 
who  would  not  understand  her,  but  who  would  jeer  at  her 
for  a  sentimentalist,  that  she  put  it  out  of  the  way  at  the 
very  earliest  opportunity.  Among  other  things,  she  wrote 


MY    FIRST    INTERVIEW   WITH    BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 


a  song,  which  used  to  be  sung  in  camp,  and  was  a  great 
favorite  ;  but  even  that  is  lost.  I  cannot  recall  it  to  mem- 
ory, and  my  mother  will  not,  as  she  says  it  is  much  better 
forgotten. 

We  rested  every  Sabbath,  and  always  held  services. 
Sometimes  we  staid  a  week  in  camp,  resting  our  tired 
oxen,  and  recruiting  our  own  strength.  It  was  a  pleasant 
season  of  the  year,  and  we  could  afford  to  travel  leisurely, 


A  BLESSING  FROM  BRIGHAM. 


as  we  had  left  Winter-Quarters  so  early  that  we  had  ample 
time  to  reach  Salt  Lake  Valley  before  the  weather  became 
disagreeable,  even  if  we  made  frequent  stops.  We  had 
plenty  of  provisions,  too,  and  there  was  no  fear  of  their  be- 
coming exhausted. 

Brigham  Young  had  returned  from  the  new  settlement  to 
accompany  the  emigrants  and  show  them  the  way.  We 
travelled  in  company  with  him,  and  I  attracted  a  great  deal 


Il6  SONGS    OF    THE    SAINTS. 

of  his  attention.  The  two  families,  Brigham's  and  our  own, 
had  lived  in  adjoining  houses  in  Nauvoo,  and  I  had  known 
"  Brother  Young  "  from  my  birth ;  he  blessed  me  in  my 
infancy,  and  I  was  at  one  time  as  great  a  favorite  of  his  as 
any  child  ever  could  be ;  which  isn't  speaking  very  enthu- 
siastically of  his  affection,  to  be  sure,  since  he  is  not  noted 
for  fondness  for  children,  even  his  own.  I  little  thought 
then  what  relation  I  should  one  day  hold  to  this  man,  who 
was  older  than  my  father.  My  future  was  not  foreshadowed 
in  that  summer  journey  in  search  of  a  home. 

The  Saints  used  to  cheer  their  tedious  journey  by  singing 
from  some  point  or  other  in  the  train.  I  could  always  catch 
snatches  of  song  ;  and  on  Sunday,  while  we  were  encamped, 
the  whole  body  of  the  Saints  would  sing  their  hymns  and 
local  songs  together.  Some  of  these  I  recollect  very  dis- 
tinctly, and,  even  now,  find  myself  humming  snatches  of 
them,  having  taken  them  up  quite  unconsciously.  One  of 
them  I  referred  to  before,  by  the  Apostle  Taylor,  who  at 
that  time  was  a  famous  hymn-writer  for  the  Saints.  This 
one  especially  was  a  great  favorite  of  the  younger  men  in 
the  company,  and  if  one  voice  began  it  while  we  were 
journeying  on,  it  would  be  taken  up  the  whole  length  of  the 
train  and  sung  with  great  unction.  I  give  it  as  a  specimen 
of  the  style  of  hymns  that  was  popular  in  the  church. 

"The  Upper  California,  O,  that's  the  land  for  me ! 
It  lies  between  the  mountains  and  the  great  Pacific  Sea  ,• 

The  Saints  can  be  supported  there, 

And  taste  the  sweets  of  liberty, 
In  Upper  California  —  O,  that's  the  land  for  me  ! 

We'll  go  and  lift  our  standard,  we'll  go  there  and  be  free, 
We'll  go  to  California,  and  have  our  jubilee ; 

A  land  that  blooms  with  endless  spring, 

A  land  of  life  and  liberty, 
With  flocks  and  herds  abounding  —  O,  that's  the  land  for  me  ! 


LIGHTENING   A   WEARY   WAY. 

We'll  burst  off  all  our  fetters,  and  break  the  Gentile  yoke, 
For  long  it  has  beset  us,  but  now  it  shall  be  broke ; 

No  more  shall  Jacob  bow  his  neck ; 

Henceforth  he  shall  be  great  and  free 
In  Upper  California  —  O,  that's  the  land  for  me  ! 

We'll  reign,we'll  rule  and  triumph,  and  God  shall  be  our  King  ; 
The  plains,  the  hills,  the  valleys  shall  with  hosannas  ring ; 

Our  towers  and  temples  there  shall  rise 

Along  the  great  Pacific  Sea, 
In  Upper  California  —  O,  that's  the  land  for  me! 

We'll  ask  our  cousin  Lemuel  to  join  us  heart  and  hand, 
And  spread  abroad  our  curtains  throughout  fair  Zion's  land. 

Till  this  is  done,  we'll  pitch  our  tents 

Along  the  great  Pacific  Sea, 
In  Upper  California  —  O,  that's  the  land  for  me ! 

Then  join  with  me,  my  brethren,  and  let  us  hasten  there  ; 
We'll  lift  our  glorious  standard,  and  raise  our  house  of  prayer ; 

We'll  call  on  all  the  nations  round 

To  join  our  standard  and  be  free 
In  Upper  California  —  O,  that's  the  land  for  me  !  " 

Another  one  that  the  Saints  used  to  sing  a  great  deal  — 
and  one  that  was  composed  in  Nauvoo,  to  be  sung  in  the 
Temple  before  the  exodus  —  was  set  to  the  pathetic  air  of 
"  Old  Dan  Tucker."  I  give  what  I  can  remember  of  it. 

"  In  '46  we  leave  Nauvoo, 
And  on  our  journey  we'll  pursue ; 
We'll  bid  the  mobbers  all  farewell, 
And  let  them  go  to  heaven  or  hell. 

Old  Governor  Ford,  he  is  so  small 
There  is  no  room  for  soul  at  all ; 
He  neither  can  be  damned  nor  blest, 
Though  heaven  or  hell  should  do  their  best." 

This  song,  profane  as  it  may  seem,  was  sung,  not  once, 
but  many  times,  in  Nauvoo  Temple,  and  religious  exer- 


Il8  GLORY    OF   THE    LATTER   DAY. 

cises  in  camp  were  never  considered  complete  without  it. 
Why  these  two  songs  stand  out  more  prominently  in  my 
memory  than  any  others  —  with  one  exception,  which  I 
shall  presently  mention  —  I  do  not  know,  unless  it  was  be- 
cause the  airs  pleased  me ;  the  first  was  bright,  stirring,  and 
very  easily  caught ;  the  other  was  familiar  to  me  in  Missouri. 
When  I  think  of  it  now,  two  scenes  always  come  to  my 
mind  :  one,  of  a  little  blue-eyed  girl,  dancing  merrily  under 
the  trees  while  a  band  of  delighted  negroes  sang  the  gay  tune 
which  the  tiny  feet  were  beating  out;  another,  of  the  same 
little  girl,  running  along  by  the  side  of  a  covered  emigrant- 
wagon,  with  her  hands  full  of  half-withered  flowers  which 
she  had  picked  by  the  wayside,  listening  to  the  old  song 
with  the  new  words,  which  she  only  half  comprehended, 
and  involuntarily  making  her  steps  keep  time  to  the  music. 
The  other  hymn  which  I  remember  was  a  great  favorite 
with  the  Saints,  and  whenever  they  sang  it,  it  had  the  power 
of  awakening  the  wildest  enthusiasm.  It  is  of  a  style  en- 
tirely different  from  either  of  the  other  two.  I  can't  help 
quoting  here  a  verse  or  two,  it  is  so  much  a  part  of  the 
memory  of  this  portion  of  my  life. 

"  The  Spirit  of  God,  like  a  fire  is  burning ! 

The  latter-day  glory  begins  to  come  forth  ; 

The  visions  and  blessings  of  old  are  returning ; 

The  angels  are  coming  to  visit  the  earth ; 

We'll  sing  and  we'll  shout,  with  the  armies  of  heaven ; 

Hosanna  !  hosanna  to  God  and  the  Lamb  ! 
Let  glory  to  them  in  the  highest  be  given, 
Henceforth  and  for  ever.     Amen  and  Amen ! 

The  Lord  is  extending  the  Saints'  understanding, 

Restoring  their  judges  and  all  as  at  first ; 
The  knowledge  and  power  of  God  are  expanding; 
The  veil  o'er  the  earth  is  beginning  to  burst. 

We'll  call  in  our  solemn  assemblies  in  spirit, 
To  spread  forth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  abroad, 


THE    SAINTS    AROUND    THE    CAMP-FIRE. 

That  we  through  our  faith  may  begin  to  inherit 
The  visions,  and  blessings,  and  glories  of  God. 

We'll  wash  and  be  washed,  and  with  oil  be  anointed, 

Withal  not  omitting  the  washing  of  feet, 
For  he  that  receiveth  his  penny  appointed 

Must  surely  be  clean  at  the  harvest  of  wheat. 

Old  Israel  that  fled  from  the  world  for  his  freedom, 
Must  come  with  the  cloud  and  the  pillar  amain ; 

A  Moses,  and  Aaron,  and  Joshua  lead  him, 
And  feed  him  on  manna  from  heaven  again. 

How  blessed  the  day  when  the  lamb  and  the  lion 

Shall  lie  down  together  without  any  ire, 
And  Ephraim  be  crowned  with  his  blessing  in  Zion, 
As  Jesus  descends  with  his  chariots  of  fire. 

We'll  sing  and  we'll  shout,  with  the  armies  of  heaven : 

Hosanna  !  hosanna  to  God  and  the  Lamb  ! 
Let  glory  to  them  in  the  highest  be  given, 
For  ever  and  ever.     Amen  and  Amen." 

This  hymn  always  stirred  the  Saints  to  the  very  depths 
of  their  natures.  It  was  as  appealing  and  sonorous  as  a 
battle-cry,  as  exultant  as  a  trumpet-note  of  victory.  Without 
understanding  it,  I  was  powerfully  affected  by  it ;  my  cheeks 
would  glow,  my  eyes  flush  with  tears,  and  my  little  heart 
grow  so  large  that  I  would  almost  suffocate.  The  sublime 
exaltation  of  the  Saints,  as  they  sung  this,  was  felt  by  me, 
child  as  I  was,  though  I  could  not  comprehend  it.  I  shut 
my  eyes  now,  and  see  a  large  company  gathered  together, 
in  a  fast-falling  twilight,  on  a  wide  plain,  that  seems  as  end- 
less as  the  ocean ;  the  blue  of  the  star-studded  sky  is  the 
only  covering  for  the  heads  of  this  company.  In  the  dusk 
the  white-covered  wagons  look  weird  and  ghostly.  Camp- 
fires  are  burning;  men,  women,  and  children  are  clustered 
together,  and  the  talk  goes  back  to  the  old  days  and  the  trials 
and  persecutions  which  these  people  have  borne,  and  forward 


I2O 


THAT    SOUL-STIRRING   SONG. 


SINGING  THE  RALLYING-SONG. 


to  an  independent  and  happy  future,  blessed  of  God  and 
unmolested  by  man.  In  the  glow  of  anticipation,  some  one 
strikes  up  this  fervid  hymn, —  the  rallying-song  of  the  Mor- 
mons, —  and  the  wide  plains 
echo  back  the  stirring  strains. 
I  nestle  by  my  mother's  side, 
awed  and  subdued,  but  con- 
tent to  feel  the  clasp  of  her 
hand  and  meet  the  loving  light 
of  her  eyes.  The  song  is  over, 
and  "  hosannas  "  and  "  amens  " 
resound  on  every  side,  and  out 
of  the  blue  sky  the  stars  smile 
down  on  the  wanderers  with  a 
calm,  hopeful  light. 

Never,  to  the  very  last,  up  to 
the  time  of  my  abandoning  Mor- 
monism  and  leaving  Utah,  could 
I  hear  this  hymn  unmoved ;  and  even  now  the  very  thought 
of  it  thrills  me  strangely.  I  have  heard  it  sung  again  and 
again  since  then ;  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  indissolubly  con- 
nected with  that  journey  across  the  plains  and  over  the 
mountains. 

Towards  the  last  of  the  journey  some  of  the  Saints  began 
to  be  somewhat  impatient,  and  begged  to  hasten  onward. 
We  had  occupied  nearly  the  whole  summer  with  the  journey, 
and  probably  crossed  the  plains  more  comfortably  and  with 
less  trouble  or  loss  than  any  train  which  followed  us.  Start- 
ing as  early  as  we  did,  we  could  move  as  slowly  as  we  liked, 
with  no  dread  of  winter  storms  overtaking  us.  The  last 
stop  we  made  of  any  length  was  at  Weber  River,  where  we 
remained  a  week  in  camp,  fishing,  and  getting  ready  for 
the  final  part  of  our  journey.  Our  wanderings  were  nearly 
at  an  end ;  only  a  few  days  more  and  we  should  reach  our 
new  home  —  the  "Zion"  of  the  promises,  the  resting-place 
for  God's  people.  Brigham,  who  did  not  often  indulge  in 


AGAIN   ON   THE   WAY.  121 

w  revelations,"  said  the  place  had  been  pointed  out  to  him  in 
a  vision,  and  in  the  shadow  of  the  mountains  the  Saints 
should  hold  their  own  against  the  entire  world.  The  pic- 
tures of  the  mountain-fastnesses  which  he  drew  for  the 
wandering  people,  and  his  assurances  of  their  future  safety 
and  constantly  increasing  power,  filled  them  with  anticipa- 
tion and  exultation.  Already  they  saw  the  masses  of  the 
converted  from  the  Gentile  world  knocking  at  their  doors 
for  admission  ;  this  yet  unbuilt  city  in  the  wilderness  was  to 
be  the  Lord's  dwelling-place  on  earth,  and  to  Him  here, 
from  every  nation  on  the  globe,  sinners  were  to  come  flock- 
ing, whose  future  glory  would  add  to  the  brightness  of  His 
kingdom  here  and  swell  His  kingdom  in  heaven. 

From  their  stronghold  in  the  mountains  they  were  to  reach 
out  and  grasp  the  whole  world.  "The  fulness  of  the  earth" 
was  to  be  the  Lord's  through  them.  Like  the  Covenanters 
of  old,  they  might  have  sung,  — 

"  For  the  strength  of  the  hills  we  bless  Thee, 

Our  God,  our  fathers'  God  ! 
Thou  hast  made  Thy  children  mighty 

By  the  touch  of  the  mountain  sod. 
Thou  hast  placed  the  Ark  of  Refuge 

Where  the  spoiler's  foot  ne'er  trod  ; 
For  the  strength  of  the  hills  we  bless  Thee, 

Our  God,  our  fathers'  God." 

In  spite  of  all  that  this  devoted  people  had  passed  through, 
they  still  believed  they  were  the  "  Chosen  of  God,"  to  whom 
it  was  given  to  "build  the  waste  places  of  Zion,  and  make 
the  desert  blossom  as  the  rose." 

There  was  general  rejoicing  when  at  last  the  camp  at 
Weber's  River  was  broken,  and  we  were  again  on  our  way. 
The  spirit  of  prophecy  broke  loose  and  fairly  run  riot  among 
the  leaders.  The  "  Promised  Land  "  was  near,  the  "  City  of 
Refuge "  for  the  weary-footed  Saints  was  nearly  reached, 
where  God  Himself  would  cheer  his  people.  The  rest  of 


122  THE    REST   AT    LAST. 

the  journey  was  accomplished  quickly ;  lagging  footsteps 
hastened  and  heavy  hearts  grew  light  as  they  neared  the 
Mormon  Canaan.  It  was  destined  not  to  be  a  land  over- 
flowing with  milk  and  honey,  but  they  had  little  care  for 
that,  when,  on  the  2Oth  of  September,  1848,  they  reached 
the  Salt  Lake  Valley,  and  were  welcomed  to  the  Fort  by 
the  little  band  who  had  preceded  them  into  the  wilderness. 
They  were  travel-stained  and  weary ;  but  here  was  home 
at  last  —  the  "  Zion  "  of  their  hopes. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


OUR  WELCOME   TO   "ZION."  —  UTAH    IN   EARLY   DAYS. 

Our  Welcome  to  Zion.  —  Housekeeping  under  Difficulties.  —  Our  First 
Home  in  Utah.  —  The  Second  Wife's  Baby.  —  The  Young  Mother. — 
A  Very  Delicate  Position.  —  Doctors  at  a  Discount.  —  Brigham's  Wife 
turns  Midwife.  —  An  Obedient  Woman.  —  Taking  care  of  the  Baby. — 
Practising  Economy.  —  The  Path  of  the  Crickets.  —  Too  much  Cracked 
Wheat.  —  Building  the  First  Mill.  —  Brother  Brigham  Speechifies.  — 
Tea  at  Five  Dollars  per  Pound.  —  Californian  Gold  Discovered.  —  Build- 
ing up  Zion. —  Brigham's  "  Dress  Reform."  —  A  Rather  Queer  Cos- 
tume.—  The  Women  "  Assert"  Themselves .  —  Clara  Decker  Rebels. — 
How  the  Prophet  treats  his  Wives.  —  I  ask  for  some  Furs,  and  am 
Snubbed.  —  How  the  Prophet  doled  out  his  Silk.  —  Eliza  Snow  and  Fan- 
ny's Finery.  —  The  Prophet  Snubs  Eliza.  —  He  Combats  the  "  Grecian 
Bend."  —  Dancing  among  the  Saints.  —  Polygamy  Denied.  —  How  the 
Saints  received  It.  — A  Nice  Little  Family  Arrangement. 


UR  own  imme- 
diate family  were 
welcomed  by 
Elizabeth's  par- 
ents, who  had 
gone  on  with  the 
first  body  of  the 
Saints,  and  were 
living  as  com- 
fortably as  they 
could  under  the 
circumstances,  in 
the  Fort.  We 
were  their  guests 
but  a  short  time  ; 
then  we  moved 
into  a  tent  and  our  covered  travelling-wagon,  which  consti- 
tuted our  first  housekeeping  establishment  in  Utah. 


^GRECIAN   BEND.* 


124  TAKING    CARE    OF   ELIZABETH. 

We  were  quite  in  the  fashion,  however,  as  nearly  all  our 
friends  were  living  in  the  same  way.  My  father  commenced 
immediately  to  build  an  adobe  house,  hoping  to  get  us  into 
it  before  the  winter  set  in.  When  it  was  finished  it  was  re- 
garded with  admiration,  and  ourselves  with  envy,  since  no 
one  else  had  so  fine  a  place.  The  reason  of  its  superiority 
was,  that  it  was  the  second  house  in  the  place,  and  the 
other  was  a  miserable  affair  of  a  log-cabin,  in  contrast  with 
which  our  adobe  structure  was  quite  a  palatial  affair. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival  at  Salt  Lake,  Elizabeth  added  a 
son  to  the  family.  This  was  a  time  and  an  occurrence  to  try 
my  mother's  spirit ;  but  she  bore  it  bravely,  and  showed  her- 
self a  true  Christian,  and  a  brave  and  sympathetic  woman. 
She  took  all  the  care  of  the  mother  and  child,  and  was  as 
devoted  to  the  former  as  though  she  had  been  a  daughter. 
\  If  there  was  any  bitterness  in  her  heart  towards  her,  she 
<f  certainly  did  not  show  it  at  this  crisis  of  her  life.  It  was  a 
trying  position  for  her  to  be  placed  in,  as  any  woman  can 
realize  who  will  give  a  thought  to  the  circumstances,  —  a 
woman  caring  for  another  during  the  birth  of  a  child  whose 
father  is  her  own  husband. 

For  many  years  the  Mormons  rejected  the  aid  of  physi- 
cians altogether.  They  applied  oil,  and  "laid  hands"  on 
all  sick  persons,  without  regard  to  their  ailments.  If  a 
person  was  ill,  the  elders  were  called,  and  they  anointed  him 
with  consecrated  oil ;  then  they  rubbed  or  manipulated  him, 
much  after  the  manner  of  the  modern  "  magnetic  treatment," 
the  elders  praying  audibly  all  the  time.  In  cases  of  child- 
birth, women  used  to  officiate,  and  Brigham  Young  com- 
pelled one  of  his  wives,  Zina  Huntington,  to  learn  mid- 
wifery, in  order  that  she  might  attend  her  husband's  other 
wives  during  their  accouchemcnts.  The  task  was  extremely 
distasteful  to  her,  as  she  was  not  particularly  fond  of  nurs- 
ing ;  and  as  those  to  be  cared  for  were  her  own  rivals,  she, 
of  course,  relished  the  work  still  less.  But  she  was  a  good, 
conscientious  woman,  and  her  reverence  for  her  husband  — 


ANOINTING    WITH    OIL.  125 

for,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  she  did  reverence  him  — 
would  not  allow  her  to  resist  any  commands  he  might  place 
upon  her ;  and  her  generous  nature  and  strict  sense  of 
justice  would  not  allow  her  to  neglect  any  one  under  her 
care,  no  matter  how  distasteful  the  person  might  be  to  her. 
She  never  carried  her  personal  feelings  into  a  sick  room, 
and  always  gave  her  patient  the  tenderest,  most  watchful, 
and  motherly  care.  The  world,  Mormon  or  Gentile,  does 
not  hold  a  nobler,  truer  woman  than  Zina  Huntington 
Young. 


ANOINTING  THE  SICK  WITH  OIL. 


In  the  absence  of  physicians,  almost  the  entire  responsi- 
bility and  care  of  Elizabeth  and  the  boy,  my  half  brother, 
fell  upon  my  mother.  She  has  often  said  that  in  the  care 
she  gave  her  at  that  time,  she  tried  to  make  amends  for 
some  of  the  bitterness  of  feeling  she  had  shown  before. 
She  never  expected  to  be  reconciled  to  the  family  arrange- 
ment; but  as  it  was  inevitable,  she  was  determined  to  do 
everything  in  her  power  to  help  everyone  concerned  in  it, 
and  to  make  the  new  home  in  Zion  as  peaceful  and  har- 
monious as  possible.  It  was  a  difficult  task ;  but  then  po- 


126 

lygamy  is  made  up  of  difficult  tasks  and  trying  situations. 
There  is  nothing  else  in  it,  —  no  one  palliation  for  all  the 
woe.  My  mother  grew  very  much  attached  to  the  child, 
and  he  clung  to  her  with  loving  affection.  He  is  twenty- 
six  years  old  now,  but  he  has  always  kept  his  love  for 
"Auntie,"  as  he  calls  my  mother,  and  she  has  an  unflagging 
interest  in  him.  Indeed,  all  Elizabeth's  children  are  fond 
of  my  mother,  and  our  two  families  have  been  more  united 
than  polygamous  families  usually  are.  This  has  been  due 
to  the  common-sense  of  the  two  mothers,  who,  the  dupes  of 
a  false  system  and  a  still  falser  religion,  nevertheless  knew 
each  that  the  other  was  not  to  blame  for  the  mutual  suffer- 
ing. For  twelve  years  they  lived  together  under  one  roof, 
eating  at  the  same  table,  with  not  an  unkind  word  passing 
between  them.  It  was  a  matter  of  conscience  with  both  ; 
they  were  neither  of  them  resigned  to  the  situation,  but 
they  believed  that  it  was  right,  and  they  must  endure  it. 

When  we  arrived  at  "  the  Valley  "  we  found  the  people 
practising  the  most  rigid  economy.  The  crickets  had  been 
very  numerous,  and  had  almost  entirely  destroyed  the 
crops,  devastating  whole  fields,  until  they  looked  as  though 
they  had  been  scorched  by  fire.  A  few  had  managed,  by 
most  desperate  exertions,  to  save  some  of  their  wheat ;  but 
as  there  was  only  an  apology  for  a  mill,  with  no  bolting 
apparatus,  this  wheat  was  obliged  to  be  eaten  without  being 
sifted.  When  I  have  seen  persons  eating  cracked  wheat 
as  a  delicacy,  and  heard  them  speaking  of  it  with  the  sub- 
dued enthusiasm  which  some  people  manifest  when  talking 
of  food,  I  have  thought  of  the  time  when  this  delicacy  was 
the  only  thing  that  was  seen  on  the  tables  at  Utah  for  break- 
fast, dinner,  or  supper,  and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  "delicacies"  may,  in  time,  grow  monotonous. 

To  be  sure,  we  brought  flour  and  other  necessaries  from 
the"" Missouri  River  in  considerable  quantity,  —  enough  to 
have  lasted  us  a  long  time,  had  we  kept  them  exclusively 
for  our  own  use ;  but  on  our  arrival  we  divided  with  those 


OUR   FIRST    WINTER    IN    UTAH.  127 

who  had  none,  and  ate  our  share  of  the  coarse  bread.  As 
soon  as  possible  a  good  mill  was  built,  and  the  year  after 
we  arrived  we  had  our  wheaten  flour  again.  Of  course 
when  once  our  small  store  of  groceries  was  exhausted,  it 
was  quite  impossible  to  procure  more  in  the  Territory, 
Everything  was  used  most  sparingly,  and  what  had,  in  the 
States,  been  looked  upon  as  actual  necessaries,  were  now 
positive  luxuries.  Jit  was  a  year  of  deprivation  and  self- 
denial,  but  the  Saints  bore  every  cross  with  patience,  and 
were  brave  to  the  end.  During  the  time  no  word  of  com- 
plaint was  heard,  and  not  one  seemed  to  regret  the  step  he 
had  taken.  There  was  an  exultation  and  a  spirit  of  free- 
dom that  amounted  to  bravado.  Brigham  added  to  this 
spirit  by  his  Sunday  discourses  in  the  Bowery,  by  such 
language  as  the  following  :  — 

"We  are  now  out  of  reach  of  our  enemies,  away  from 
civilization,  and  we  will  do  as  we  please,  with  none  to  mo- 
lest. The  Gentiles  cannot  reach  us  now.  If  they  try  it 
they  will  find  themselves  in  trouble." 

During  the  first  year  we  had  only  the  groceries  we 
brought  with  us ;  but  the  following  year  some  kinds  were 
brought  in  from  the  States,  and  although  the  prices  demanded 
were  fearfully  high,  yet  buyers  were  found  for  all  the  arti- 
cles. Tea  sold  for  five  dollars  a  pound,  sugar  for  one  dol- 
lar and  fifty  cents  a  pound  ;  potatoes  brought  their  weight  in 
silver,  and  potato-balls  were  brought  from  California,  at  a 
great  expense,  to  be  used  for  seed. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  California  mines  were  discov- 
ered, and  the  gold-dust  actually  was  more  plentiful  than 
food  or  clothing,  for  a  while. 

The  first  winter  was  filled  with  a  variety  of  occupations, 
the  men  going  to  the  canons  for  timber,  building  houses, 
and  taking  care  of  stock  ;  the  women  knitted,  repaired  the 
dilapidated  clothing,  and  attended  to  the  household  duties, 
necessarily  in  a  very  primitive  fashion..  There  wasn't  a 
pair  of  idle  hands  in  the  entire  settlement.  The  yarn  which 


128  DISAGREEMENTS    AMONG    THE    SAINTS. 

the  women  used  for  knitting  was  made  from  buffalo  wool, 
which  we  picked  from  the  sage-bush  on  the  journey.  The 
carding  and  spinning  were  also  done  by  the  sisters. 

Our  principal  food,  the  first  winter,  was  dried  buffalo- 
meat,  very  poor  beef,  and  the  coarse  bread  of  which  I  have 
spoken,  made  from  the  unbolted  wheat.  Occasionally,  as 
a  very  great  luxury,  we  had  dried  fruit  and  a  cup  of  tea ; 
but  this  was  only  on  state  occasions,  and  at  very  long  in- 
tervals. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  bickerings  among  this  Saintly 
people  were  no  more  infrequent  than  among  the  Gentiles, 
and  that  there  were  as  many  disputes  over  land  and  other 
claims  in  "Zion,"  as  ever  there  had  been  in  "Babylon." 
They  were  not  above  jealousies,  either,  this  "  chosen  peo- 
ple;"  and,  indeed,  on  our  arrival  at  Salt  Lake  we  found 
trouble  between  the  Apostle  John  Taylor  and  Bishop  Smart, 
the  two  men  whom  Brigham  Young  had  left  in  authority 
when  he  left  Utah  for  the  States  to  fetch  the  remainder  of 
the  Saints.  Each  had  become  jealous  of  the  other,  and 
envious  of  his  authority,  and  it  required  considerable  skill 
and  tact  to  settle  the  apostolic  quarrel  and  make  matters 
smooth  again.  Jedediah  M.  Grant  was  presiding,  and 
holding  the  two  factions  apart  when  Brigham  arrived ;  and 
so  well  did  he  manage  this  most  difficult  task,  that,  as  a  re- 
ward for  his  faithfulness  and  patience,  Brigham  made  him 
his  second  counsellor.  It  took  some  time  to  settle  this  and 
other  disputes,  and  often  the  entire  Sunday  service  was  de- 
voted to  the  adjustment  of  difficulties  between  the  brethren. 

The  Fort  was  by  no  means  large  enough  to  hold  all  the 
people  who  had  already  arrived,  and  tents  would  be  com- 
fortable for  only  a  few  weeks.  The  work  of  building  went 
on  as  rapidly  as  possible,  those  who  were  able  having  log 
or  adobe  houses,  while  others  of  less  extensive  means  were 
obliged  to  content  themselves  with  "  dugouts,"  which  were 
nothing  more  or  less  than  holes  dug  in  the  ground  and 
covered  with  willow  boughs  and  earth. 


THE    PROPHET    INVENTS    DRESSES    FOR    THE    GIRLS  ! 

When  the  clothing  wore  out,  as  there  was  no  cloth  there, 
and  no  wool  to  make  it  from,  the  men  wore  clothes  made  of 
deer  and  antelope  skins.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Brigham 
undertook  to  inaugurate  a  "dress  reform  "  among  the  women, 
and  introduce  a  most  unique  style  of  dress  of  his  own  inven- 
tion. If  the  dress  reformers  of  the  East  are  likely  to  fail  in 
their  attempts  to  present  a  sufficient  quantity  of  novelties  to 
meet  the  demands  of  their  patrons,  I  would  most  respect- 
fully recommend  to  their  most  favorable  notice  President 
Young's  "  inspired  "  dress,  which  was  called  the  "  Deseret 
costume." 

It  is  a  marked  peculiarity  of  the  Mormon  Mogul,  that  he 
is  extremely  fond  of  interfering.  No  matter  is  too  trivial  for 
his  mind  to  dwell  upon  and  consider.  Nothing  is  of  too 
private  or  personal  a  nature  for  him  to  refrain  from  meddling 
with  it.  From  the  cuisine  of  the  poorest  family  in  the  Ter- 
ritory to  the  wardrobe  of  the  richest,  nothing  escapes  him, 
and  whatever  he  may  say  or  do,  no  one  dares  resent  his  in- 
terference. 

Not  long  after  the  arrival  of  the  Saints  in  Utah,  Brigham 
conceived  the  idea  of  a  uniform  dress,  by  which  the  sister 
Saints  should  be  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  world, 
and  for  a  while  he  was  enthusiastic  on  the  subject  of  this 
"  dress  reform."  He  not  only  introduced  the  idea  of  this 
dress,  but  he  planned  it  himself,  and  was  as  proud  of  his 
costume  as  Worth  is  of  any  one  of  the  most  gorgeous  gowns 
which  he  sends  out  from  his  world-famed  establishment. 
Several  of  the  sisters  had  adopted  the  Bloomer  costume  in 
Illinois,  and  President  Young  had  warmly  approved  of  it. 
He  now  wanted  something  more  pronounced,  and  he  held 
meetings  with  the  leading  ladies  who  favored  his  plan,  for 
the  purpose  of  deciding  in  what  manner  to  introduce  the 
new  costume.  There  was  much  excitement  over  it,  and 
most  of  the  sisters  were  intensely  curious  concerning  the 
proposed  style  of  it,  when  suddenly  it  was  revealed  to  them 
in  all  its  beauty. 

9 


130 


CUTTING    OFF    THE    PETTICOATS  ! 


The  costume  consisted  of  a  short  dress,  which  did  not  fit 
the  figure  at  all,  but  resembled  very  closely  the  modern  gored 
wrapper,  such  as  is  worn  at  the  present  time.  .It  reached 
about  half  way  between  the  knee  and  ankle,  and  was  worn 
with  long  pantalets,  made  of  the  same  material  as  the  dress 
itself.  Over  this  was  worn  a  long,  loose  sacque,  of  antelope 
skin.  This  costume  was  certainly  peculiar  and  distinctive 
enough  ;  but  it  did  not  quite  suit  the  Mormon  Worth  ;  it  was 

not  complete  enough ; 
so  he  added  a  hat 
eight  inches  high, 
with  a  straight,  narrow 
brim ;  and  then  he 
viewed  his  achievement 
with  complacent  admi- 
ration. 

It  must  be  confessed, 
however,  that  the  large 
majority  of  the  sisters 
did  not  share  his  ad 
miration ;  and  even  he, 
although  he  strenuous- 
ly  urged  the  general 
adoption  of  this  cos- 
tume, could  induce  but 
very  few  of  the  sisters 
to  wear  it.  Even  Mor- 
mon women  will  assert 
themselves  in  matters  of  the  toilette,  and  they  refused, 
most  persistently,  to  make  perfect  guys  of  themselves.  It 
was  a  very  unbecoming  dress,  both  to  face  and  figure  ;  there 
was  nothing  graceful  or  beautiful  about  it,  and  probably  the 
female  Mormons  have  never,  in  all  their  lives,  come  so 
nearly  being  actually  indignant  with  their  Prophet  as  they 
were  when  he  endeavored  to  induce  them  to  disfigure  them- 
selves by  wearing  this  hideous  costume. 


THE  DESEKET  COSTUME. 


Some  of  the  sisters,  however,  were  quite  energetic  in 
their  efforts  to  bring  about  the  desired  dress  reform,  and 
they  cut  their  silk  dresses  and  other  expensive  materials 
after  this  pattern.  It  is  true,  silk  was  not  very  common 
in  Utah  at  that  time,  but  a  few  of  the  more  wealthy  had 
brought  materials  with  them  for  future  use  ;  and  the  first  use 
they  made  of  them  was  to  sacrifice  them  to  one  of  President 
Young's  whims.  They  did  it  with  an  earnestness,  and 
even  eagerness,  that  was  beautiful  to  behold  —  or  would 
have  been,  had  not  one  been  pained  at  their  delusion. 

But  the  "  Deseret  Costume  "  was  not  a  success.  The  high 
hat  killed  it  at  its  birth.  It  is  possible  that  without  this 
addition  the  rest  of  the  dress  might  have  been  tolerated ; 
but  as  every  one  who  wore  it  was  expected  to  don  the  hat 
also,  the  short-dress  mania  was  of  brief  existence.  Of 
course  the  material  that  was  used  for  one  of  these  dresses 
was  utterly  worthless  after  that,  as  nothing  could  be  done 
with  it.  The  dress  was  in  so  many  pieces  that  the  cut-up 
cloth  was  good  for  nothing. 

One  or  two  of  the  Prophet's  wives  —  who  wished  to  serve 
the  Lord  and  glorify  Brigham,  and  who  were  determined 
to  live  by  "every  word  that  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth"  — 
persevered  in  wearing  the  dress,  hat,  pantalets  and  all, 
long  after  every  one  else  had  abandoned  it ;  until  at  last 
they  were  compelled  to  succumb  to  popular  opinion  and  a 
more  prevailing  fashion.  .  That  was  the  first  and  last  at- 
tempt of  Brigham  Young  to  institute  a  "  dress  reform," 
although  he  has  never  ceased  inveighing  in  the  strongest 
terms  against  the  follies  and  vanities  of  the  feminine  world, 
and  assailing  the  women  who  followed  the  fashions.  It  is, 
indeed,  a  pet  occupation  of  his  when  he  is  in  exceedingly 
bad  temper ;  and  the  Saints  can  easily  tell  when  anything 
has  gone  wrong  with  him  during  the  week  by  the  ferocity 
with  which  he  attacks  the  sisters  on  the  subject  of  dress,  in 
the  Tabernacle  on  Sunday.  Jie.does  not  seem  to  make  a 
very  decided  impression  on  his  listeners,  however ;  even  his 


132  THE    GRUMBLING   PROPHET   AND    THE    FURS. 

wives  and  daughters  following  their  own  inclinations  rather 
than  his  teachings.  The  truth  is,  he  says  so  much  about  it 
that  it  is  altogether  an  old  story,  and  has  lost  all  its  impres- 
siveness  from  its  frequent  repetition. 

His  chief  topic  is  retrenchment  in  dress,  and  he  pleads  for 
it  as  earnestly  as  though  it  were  a  vital  matter  with  him. 
And  he  not  only  preaches  economy  in  the  Tabernacle  to  his 
people,  but  he  practices  the  most  rigid  parsimony  at  home 
with  his  wives.  Except  by  Amelia,  a  request  for  any  article 
of  wearing  apparel  is  the  signal  for  all  sorts  of  grumbling. 
Once  in  a  while,  however,  some  of  his  wives  will  turn  sud- 
denly and  give  him  an  answer ;  though,  I  must  confess,  the 
occasions  are  rare. 

Clara  Decker,  one  of  his  numerous  wives,  was  sadly  in 
want  of  some  furs,  and  she  did  not  hesitate  to  ask  Brother 
Young  to  supply  her  needs.  He  became  positively  furious, 
and  declared  that  her  extravagance  was  beyond  all  endu- 
rance ;  she  wanted  to  ruin  him ;  she  was  determined  to  ruin 
him ;  all  his  wives  were  banded  together  for  his  financial 
downfall ;  and  so  on,  with  endless  abuse.  She  listened  to 
him  patiently  for  a  few  minutes ;  then  getting  tired  of  all 
this  abuse,  she  interrupted  him  :  — 

"If  you  think,  Brigham  Young,  that  I  care  anything  for 
you,  except  for  your  money  and  what  little  I  can  get  from 
you,  you  are  mistaken.  I  might  have  cared  more  once; 
but  that  was  a  long  time  ago." 

She  then  turned  and  left  the  room,  leaving  him  petrified 
with  amazement.  A  few  hours  after  a  set  of  furs  was  sent 
to  her  room.  She  quietly  took  them,  and  the  subject  was 
never  referred  to  again. 

The  winter  after  my  marriage  with  the  Prophet,  I  myself 
preferred  a  similar  request,  and  was  met  by  a  similar  torrent 
of  abuse.  Not  knowing  that  this  was  his  usual  manner  of 
meeting  a  request  from  his  wives,  and  not  having  Clara 
Decker's  experience,  I  was  perfectly  overcome,  and  felt  as 
though  I  had  committed  the  unpardonable  sin  in  daring  even 


CLARA   DECKER    SPEAKS    HER   MIND. 


133 


to  think  of  a  set  of  furs,  which,  by  the  way,  are  actual  neces- 
sities in  a  Utah  winter.  I  burst  into  tears,  and  sobbed  out,  — 

"  O,  don't,  Brother  Young  !  " 

I  left  the  office  and  went  home,  puzzled  and  astonished 
at  this  new  revelation  of  my  Prophet-husband's  meanness 
and  coarseness.  The  next  time  he  came  to  see  me  he 
brought  me  my  furs.  I  used  them  two  seasons,  when  the 
muff  needed  re-lining,  and  I  ventured  to  ask  him  for  silk  for 


BRIGHAM  REFUSES  MY  REQUEST. 

the  purpose,  thinking,  of  course,  he  could  find  no  fault 
with  so  modest  a  request  as  that.  But  it  seems  I  had  not 
even  then  tested  his  full  capacity  for  fault-finding.  He 
treated  me  to  a  tirade,  longer  and  more  abusive  than  ever. 
He  had  got  my  furs  for  me,  and  yet  I  was  not  satisfied,  but  I 
must  come  bothering  him  again.  I  knew  that  he  had  several 
trunks  full  of  silks,  velvets,  and  laces,  that  he  was  keeping 
for  some  purpose  or  other,  and  consequently  the  material 


134  ELIZA    SNOW    IS    SHOCKED  I 

for  re-lining  my  muff  would  cost  him  nothing ;  so  I  did 
not  feel  that  I  merited  the  lecture  I  was  receiving.  I  said 
nothing,  however,  beyond  making  my  request,  and  when  he 
had  finished  he  cut  off  a  quarter  of  a  yard  of  narrow  silk 
from  an  entire  piece  which  he  had  in  one  of  the  trunks,  and 
gave  it  to  me  with  as  many  airs  and  as  much  flourish  as 
though  he  were  presenting  me  with  a  whole  dress  pattern. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  my  muff  was  not  lined  with  that 
piece  of  silk. 

The  trimming  of  dresses  also  comes  in  for  a  full  share  of 
Brother  Brigham's  condemnation ;  but  he  likes  to  have  all 
the  scolding  and  fault-finding  to  himself.  If  any  one  else  ven- 
tures to  express  a  like  opinion,  he  is  more  than  likely  to  dis- 
agree with  them,  probably  from  pure  contrariness.  I  re- 
member an  incident  that  illustrates  this,  which  took  place  at 
family  prayers  at  the  Lion-house  one  evening.  One  of  the 
Prophet's  daughters ,  Fanny,  a  very  pretty,  stylish  girl, 
came  into  the  parlor  wearing  a  black  wrapper  trimmed  with 
rows  of  red  braid.  The  sight  of  this  seemed  very  greatly 
to  exercise  Eliza  Snow,  —  a  proxy  wife  of  Brother  Brigham, 
—  and  she  exclaimed  in  a  shocked  tone,  — 

"  Is  it  possible  that  I  see  one  of  Brigham  Young's  daughters 
in  a  dress  trimmed  with  red?  I  am  more  surprised  than  I 
can  tell." 

Brother  Brigham  couldn't  stand  this  invasion  of  his  prov- 
ince, and  called  out  peremptorily, — 

"  That  dress  is  well  enough.  Let  the  girl  alone ;  she 
shall  wear  whatever  she  chooses.  I've  seen  you  in  more 
ridiculous  finery  than  that."  And  this  to  the  woman  who 
was  the  first  to  adopt,  and  the  last  to  relinquish,  the  hat, 
pantalets  and  short  gown  of  the  "  Deseret  Costume ! " 
Such  is  Prophetic  gratitude  ! 

On  one  occasion  he  was  holding  forth  on  the  subject  of 
long  dresses ;  reviling  them,  of  course,  and  holding  up  to 
ridicule  and  contempt  the  women  who  wore  them. 

"  The  very  next  time,"  said  he,  growing  warm  with  his 


BRIGHAM    DECLARES    AGAINST    THE    "  GRECIAN    BEND."  135 

subject,  "  that  I  see  one  of  my  wives  with  a  dress  on  sweep- 
ing the  ground,  I  will  take  the  scissors  and  cut  it  off." 

The  very  next  day,  I  was  passing  through  a  door  in  front 
of  him,  when  he  accidentally  stepped  upon  my  train,  which 
was  a  very  long  one.  Of  course  I  expected  my  dress 
to  be  sacrificed  to  the  Prophet's  promise,  but  to  my  great 
surprise,  he  not  only  refrained  from  the  threatened  applica- 
tion of  the  scissors,  but  from  any  comment,  even  so  much 
as  an  apology  for  his  awkwardness. 

One  of  his  favorite  amusements  has  been  imitating  the 
Grecian  bend  for  the  benefit  of  the  congregation,  and  it 
pleased  him  so  much,  and  seemed  so  highly  entertaining, 
that  he  kept  up  the  practice  long  after  "  the  bend  "  was  out 
of  fashion.  He  indulges  in  the  coarsest  witticisms,  and  is 
not  above  positive  vulgarity  and  profanity,  both  in  language 
and  manner,  often  making  himself  very  offensive  to  the 
more  refined  portion  of  his  audience. 

His  own  practice  is  entirely  at  variance  with  his  teach- 
ings, since  he  wears  the  finest  broadcloth  of  the  most  fash- 
ionable cut,  drives  the  fastest  horses,  and  rides  in  the  most 
elegant  carriages  in  the  Territory,  and  his  favorite  wife  is 
indulged  in  all  the  extravagances  of  the  age.  And  yet  a 
large  portion  of  the  Saints  seem  to  take  no  notice  of  these 
inconsistencies,  but  receive  all  that  he  says  as  the  strictest 
law  and  the  most  unimpeachable  gospel. 

In  place  of  a  distinctive  costume,  which  he  hoped  to  make 
the  women  adopt,  the  daughters  of  Zion  fairly  rival  their 
Babylonian  sisters  in  gaiety  and  fineness  of  attire,  and  the 
remotest  allusion  to  the  "  Deseret  Costume  "  is  never  heard 
now  in  the  City  of  the  Saints.  It  was  the  last  attempt  at 
dress  reform  in  Utah. 

Immediately  on  the  arrival  of  the  church  in  Utah,  poly- 
gamy was  urged  upon  the  people.  Having  no  fear  of  the 
outside  world,  since  they  were  so  far  removed  from  it,  they 
laid  aside  all  caution,  and  preached  and  practiced  it  openly. 
The  plural-wives  taken  in  Nauvoo  were  acknowledged  for 


136  LOOKING    OUT    FOR    MORE    WIVES. 

the  first  time,  and  others  were  added.  The  men  were  con- 
stantly urged  to  "build  up  the  kingdom,"  and  in  order  to  do 
that  they  were  counselled  to  "  take  advantage  of  their  privi- 
leges." If  they  did  not  hasten  to  obey  counsel,  they  drew 
down  Prophetic  and  Apostolic  wrath  onto  their  heads,  and 
were  accused  of  not  "  living  up  to  the  privileges."  It  soon 
became  very  unpopular  for  a  man  to  have  but  one  wife,  ano\ 
he  quickly  found  himself  looking  out  for  another.  In  fact, 
the  somewhat  coarse  song,  which  was  much  affected  by  the 
Mormon  men,  described  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  intro- 
duction of  polygamy :  — 

"  Some  men  have  a  dozen  wives, 
And  some  men  have  a  score ; 
The  man  that  has  but  one  wife 
Is  looking  out  for  more." 

Of  course  dancing-parties  were  frequent  then,  even  when 
there  was  nothing  but  the  "Bowery"  for  a  ball-room,  with 
the  earth  for  a  floor.  Joseph  Smith  had  told  them  that  it 
was  the  will  of  the  Lord  that  they  should  "  make  them- 
selves merry  in  the  dance,"  and,  like  the  consistent  Chris- 
tians they  were,  they  determined  that  the  Lord's  will,  in 
this  matter  at  least,  should  be  done.  They  had  danced  in 
the  Temple  at  Nauvoo,  they  had  danced  while  crossing  the 
plains,  and  now  they  commenced  again,  in  the  only  place 
of  worship  which  the  city  boasted,  which  was  an  open 
space,  overarched  by  boughs  of  trees.  This  served  as 
tabernacle  and  dancing-room  while  the  weather  permitted ; 
after  which  the  religious  services  were  held  at  Brigham's 
own  house,  the  dances  at  the  different  houses. 

Polygamy  became  so  much  the  fashion,  that  if  a  man 
attended  a  party  with  only  one  wife,  he  felt  ashamed  and 
humiliated,  and  would  instantly  select  some  unappropriated 
young  woman,  and  commence  paying  her  "  particular  and 
peculiar"  attentions.  He  would  dance  with  her,  and  in  the 
intervals  of  the  dance  talk  matrimony  to  his,  usually,  not 


FOUR   WIVES    LIVING    IN    ONE    ROOM  !  137 

uninterested  nor  unwilling  listener ;  the  poor  wife  sitting 
by,  watching  the  progress  of  the  courtship  with  heavy  heart 
and  a  consciousness  of  what  the  result  would  be.  A  lady- 
friend,  who  had  lived  that  experience,  once  said  to  me, 
w  I  could  write  volumes  on  the  misery  I  endured  that  first 
winter  in  Utah."  Another  one,  referring  to  the  same 
period,  said,  "I  have  divided  my  last  crust  with  poly- 
gamy." 


THE  BALL  IN  THE  BOWERY. 

It  was  horrible,  the  makeshifts  that  were  obliged  to  be 
resorted  to,  in  order  to  start  the  system.  A  neighbor  of 
ours  had  four  wives,  and  only  one  room  to  live  in  during 
the  entire  winter.  It  was  used  for  sitting-room,  kitchen, 
bedroom  and  parlor,  and  the  interior  arrangements  defy  all 
description.  No  pen  can  portray  the  many  ingenious  ex- 
pedients adopted  to  preserve  appearances.  Modesty  and 
decency  forbid  my  throwing  too  strong  a  light  on  that  habi- 
tation. 

This  was  only  one  of  many,  and  was  by  no  means  excep- 
tional. The  command  had  gone  forth  to  take  more  wives, 
and  it  did  not  matter  at  all  whether  there  was  a  place  to  put 
them  in  ;  they  must  be  taken  into  polygamy.  It  was  kept 
quiet  from  the  outside  world,  and  the  elders  who  were  sent 
out  on  missions  were  commanded  to  keep  utter  silence  on 


138  THE  "EXTRA"  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN. 

the  subject.  Rumors  did  get  out  after  a  while,  especially 
after  the  California  miners  began  to  pass  through  Utah. 
There  were  no  hotels  at  Salt  Lake  City  at  that  time,  and 
the  emigrants  who  stopped  there  to  rest,  before  finishing 
their  journey,  were  compelled  to  become  temporary  in- 
mates of  Mormon  families,  where  they  found  polygamous 
wives  and  children  as  a  matter  of  course.  Naturally  they 
would  grow  curious  after  a  time  concerning  these  extra 
women  and  children,  and  as  the  inquiries  were  sometimes 
quite  embarrassing,  every  subterfuge  had  to  be  resorted  to 
to  keep  the  guests  in  ignorance  of  the  system. 

But,  try  the  best  they  might,  they  could  not  prevent  sus- 
picions of  the  truth ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  mis- 
sionaries, both  in  the  States  and  in  Europe,  found  themselves 
terribly  perplexed  by  all  sorts  of  questions  concerning  the 
truth  of  the  reports  that  were  coming  thicker  and  faster 
from  Utah.  They  were  ordered  to  deny  the  rumors,  and 
they  all  did  so  in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  up  to  the  very 
time  of  the  publication  of  Joseph's  "Revelation,"  in  1852. 

In  Nauvoo  it  had  been  represented  to  those  who  had 
been  told  of  the  new  doctrine  that  it  was  optional ;  that  no 
one  need  enter  the  relation  unless  he  chose ;  and,  conse- 
quently, although  they  felt  it  was  a  cruel  doctrine,  yet  most 
of  the  women  flattered  themselves  that  their  husbands, 
while  they  might  receive  it  as  a  religious  truth,  would  never 
practice  it.  But  when  the  church  was  located  in  Utah, 
away  from  everybody,  where  help  could  never  reach  the 
oppressed  and  miserable,  and  from  whence  there  was  no 
possibility  of  escape,  then  polygamy  was  no  longer  option- 
al, but  every  man  was  compelled  to  enter  it,  under  pain 
of  Brigham's  displeasure,  and  its  results. 

That  was  a  miserable  winter  for  the  Mormon  women ; 
they  felt  that  they  had  in  some  way  been  the  victims  of  false 
pretences,  but  they  did  not  dare  to  blame  anyone,  for  fear 
of  displeasing  "the  Lord."  It  was  represented  to  them  that 
this  was  God's  will,  and  they  must  submit,  else  they  would 


VICTIMS    OF    FALSE    PRETENCES.  139 

never  see  salvation.  Many  of  them  were  exceedingly  re- 
bellious, and  would  have  returned  to  the  States  had  it  been 
possible  ;  but  they  had  no  means,  and  no  prospect  of  getting 
any,  and  they  could  only  stay  on  and  endure  in  sullen 
silence  and  inward  rebellion,  which,  after  a  while,  when 
they  found  there  was  no  escape,  became  a  sort  of  hopeless 
apathy,  which  was  by  no  means  resignation. 

Others,  actuated  by  true  religious  fervor, — like  my 
mother,  —  accepted  the  situation  because  they  really  be- 
lieved it  was  commanded  by  God ;  and  while  they  were 
always  unhappy  in  it,  and  considered  it  the  greatest  cross 
that  could  possibly  be  put  upon  them  to  bear,  still  made  the 
best  of  it,  and  made  it  a  matter  of  conscience  to  be  as  pa- 
tient, forbearing,  and  charitable  as  it  was  possible  for  human 
nature  to  be  under  such  circumstances. 

Most  of  the  men  took  kindly  to  the  new  state  of  affairs, 
and  did  not  seem  at  all  backward  about  availing  themselves 
of  their  privileges.  They  had  a  good  example  set  them  by 
their  Prophet  and  his  counsellors,  and  the  Apostles  fulfilled 
their  duty  to  the  utmost  by  setting  an  example  to  their  peo- 
ple in  this  respect. 

The  few  Saints  who  had  practiced  polygamy  in  Nauvoo 
had  done  so  very  secretly ;  consequently,  when  we  came  to 
Utah,  and  were  beyond  the  reach  of  the  government,  and, 
as  the  leaders  taught  us,  no  longer  amenable  to  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  there  were  some  very  strange  family  rev- 
elations made.  I  will  instance  one,  in  the  case  of  Lorenzo 
Young  —  an  elder  in  the  church  and  a  brother  of  Brigham 
-and  Mrs.  Decker.  Mr.  Young,  who  had  a  wife  and  six 
children  all  living,  met  Mrs.  Decker,  a  very  charming  and 
fascinating  woman,  who  did  not  seem  to  think  that  the  fact 
of  her  having  one  husband,  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Decker, 
prevented  her  from  taking  Mr.  Young  for  another ;  and  he 
seemed  to  find  Mrs.  Young  no  obstacle  to  his  union  with  his 
new  love.  Each  of  them  had  children  married,  yet  both 
declared  they  had  never  before  met  their  affinity. 


140  MEETING  "AFFINITIES     LATE  IN  LIFE. 

Mr.  Young  laid  the  case  before  Joseph  Smith,  and  the 
Prophet  informed  him  that  no  doubt  they  were  kindred 
spirits,  intended  for  each  other  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  and  that  the  day  would  come  when  they  would  be 
united  by  the  bonds  of  celestial  marriage.  This  was  in 
1837?  which  showed  that  the  idea  was  in  his  mind  as  early 
as  that,  although  it  was  not  reduced  to  a  form  and  shown  to 
anyone  until  1843. 

Joseph  having  given  them  this  much  consolation,  they 
arranged  matters  to  suit  themselves,  and  seemed  quite  en- 
chanted with  one  another.  The  only  difficulty  in  the  way 
was  Mr.  Decker.  It  was  a  puzzle  to  know  how  to  dispose 
of  him.  But  he  and  the  world  must  both  be  deceived,  and 
appearances  must  be  kept  up.  So  the  wife  remained  with 
her  lawful  husband  until  the  Revelation  of  1843  cut  the 
perplexing  knot  for  them,  and  unravelled  the  intricate 
affairs. 

Mrs.  Decker  was  sealed  to  Brother  Young,  and  Mrs. 
Young  to  Mr.  Decker,  who  by  this  means  had  two  wives 
given  him  in  place  of  the  one  who  was  leaving  him. 

These  mixed  families  were  compelled  to  live  in  one  house 
until  they  left  the  States.  They  then  separated.  Their 
children  scattered  everywhere,  not  knowing  to  whom  they 
belonged ;  and,  altogether  disgusted  and  dissatisfied,  felt 
more  at  home  with  strangers  than  they  did  with  their  par- 
ents,—  especially  as  they  did  not  know,  positively,  what 
name  they  were  entitled  to  bear.  They  were  by  no  means 
the  only  ones  who  were  perplexed  in  the  same  way.  There 
had  been  a  queer  and  intricate  mixing  up  in  Nauvoo ;  it  is 
not  at  all  strange  if  the  attempt  at  straightening  out  was  a 
difficult  one. 

Joseph  Smith's  sons  contend  that  he  was  not  a  polygamist ; 
yet,  with  all  the  facts  concerning  his  own  life,  and  his  en- 
couragement of  what  would  be  considered  in  most  commu- 
nities the  broadest  kind  of  license,  he  either  must  have  been 
a  polygamist  or  something  infinitely  worse.  Certainly  the 


DIDN'T  KNOW  WHO  THEIR  FATHERS  WERE  !        141 

wildest  doctrines  of  promiscuity,  as  taught  by  certain 
socialists  of  the  present  day,  are  no  more  startling  than 
those  taught  by  Joseph  Smith,  and  have  been  forced  upon 
the  people  by  his  successor,  under  the  guise  of  polygamy, 
or,  "  Celestial  Marriage." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


TROUBLES   UNDER   THE   NEW  SYSTEM. 

The  Sorrows  of  My  Uncle.  —  "  It's  a  Hopeless  Fix."  —  A  Woman's  Ar- 
gument about  Polygamy.  —  My  Mother  "  labors  "  with  a  First  Wife.  — 
Wife  No.  2  "  Walks  Off."  —  Marrying  a  Widow  and  her  Two  Daugh- 
ters. —  Mrs.  Webb  becomes  a  Wife  No.  2.  —  Wife  No.  I  throws  Brick- 
bats into  the  Nuptial  Chamber.  —  She  clears  the  Field  of  Extra  Wives. 
—  "  Building  up  the  Kingdom."  —  The  Atrocious  Villanies  of  Orson 
Pratt.  —  How  he  has  Seduced  Innocent  Girls.  —  Brigham's  Nephew 
Rebels.  —  Trouble  in  the  Prophet's  Family.  —  Forgetting  a  Wife's 
Face.  —  A  Woman  who  liked  Polygamy. 


HERE  was  literally  no  end 
to  the  muddles  in  which 
the  Mormon  people  found 
themselves  while  trying 
to  adjust  their  polygamous 
affairs. 

In  our  own  family  it  was 
very  smooth  sailing,  as 
there  were  no  superfluous 
members  to  be  accounted 
for,  and  the  two  wives 
made  the  best  of  their  un- 
fortunate situation.  But 
the  same  peace  did  not 

prevail  in  all  families.     I   remember  one  family  quite  well 

where  affairs  were   strangely  mixed,  and  in  which  the  wife 

exhibited  a  most  amusing  inconsistency. 

A  brother  of  my  father,  Milo  Webb,  had  married  a  very 

pretty  and  agreeable  woman  in  Illinois,  who  was  perfectly 


THE    SORROWS    OF    MY    UNCLE.  143 

devoted  to  him,  and  he  returned  her  love  ardently.  They 
were  both  members  of  the  Mormon  Church,  and  had  lived  in 
the  greatest  harmony,  with  not  the  slightest  shadow  of  dis- 
cord, until  1846,  when  the  "  Endowments"  were  given  in 
Nauvoo  Temple. 

To  those  men  who  were  considered  worthy  to  be  called 
to  that  holy  edifice  to  receive  the  sacred  rite  of  the  Endow- 
ments, polygamy  was  quietly  taught  as  one  of  the  require- 
ments of  religion,  and  these  faithful  brethren  were  counselled 
not  to  appear  with  but  one  wife ;  and  of  course  after  this 
many  felt  ashamed  to  present  themselves  with  only  the  wife 
of  their  first  and  unbiassed  choice,  the  mother  of  their  chil- 
dren, the  sharer  of  their  fortunes,  the  consoler  in  trouble, 
the  faithful,  loving  soul  who  had  made  her  husband's  people 
her  people,  his  home  her  home,  his  God  her  God;  who 
had  considered  no  sacrifice  too  great  to  bear  for  his  sake, 
no  suffering  too  intense  to  be  endured ;  who  had  literally 
taken  him  "  for  better,  for  worse,  for  richer,  for  poorer  ;  "  had 
clung  to  him  in  sickness  and  health,  in  poverty  and  distress, 
as  well  as  in  plenty  and  comfort,  and  who  fondly  believed 
that  only  death  should  part  them. 

If  a  man  dared  be  true  to  his  better  nature,  and  present 
himself  for  his  Endowments  with  this  wife  alone,  he  was 
ridiculed  by  the  authorities  for  being  so  poorly  provided  for, 
especially  by  Brigham  and  Heber  C.  Kimball,  —  who  seemed 
always  to  supply  the  buffoonery  for  the  occasions,  —  and 
warned  that  he  need  never  expect  to  be  received  into  the 
celestial  kingdom  until  he  had  entered  polygamy,  as  it  was 
quite  impossible  for  him  to  do  so. 

My  uncle  was  a  conscientious  man  and  a  devoted  Mor- 
mon, and,  like  my  father,  believing  the  command  to  be 
from  God,  dared  not  disregard  it.  He  made  proposals  of 
marriage  to  a  young  girl  named  Jane  Matthews,  and  she, 
being  taught  by  the  leaders  of  the  church,  whom  she  con- 
sulted in  the  matter,  that,  except  as  a  polygamous  wife,  she 
could  not  attain  to  exaltation  in  the  future  state,  accepted 


144  A   FAMILY    MIXTURE. 

the  proposal  as  the  only  means  within  her  power  of  securing 
salvation ;  and  the  two,  together  with  the  wife,  received 
their  Endowments,  and  were  united  in  the  "indissoluble" 
bonds  of  "  Celestial  Marriage." 

The  wife  had  given  only  a  reluctant  consent  to  the  ar- 
rangement, impelled  to  this  solely  by  a  sense  of  religious 
duty,  and  not  because  she  approved  of  or  liked  it.  It  was 
the  first  bitter  experience  of  her  married  life,  and  she  did 
not  accept  it  with  the  slightest  spirit  of  resignation,  but  as 
something  inevitable.  Neither  she  nor  her  husband  real- 
ized, in  any  degree,  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking,  and 
the  young  girl  was  still  more  ignorant  of  the  situation. 
Had  they  known  how  utterly  wretched  the  future  was  to  be, 
I  believe  they  would  have  hesitated  a  long  time  before  they 
assumed  such  relations  with  each  other,  even  if  they  thought 
they  were  perilling  their  salvation  by  the  delay. 

The  new  wife  was  brought  to  the  home  where  so  entire 
happiness  had  reigned,  and  lived  there  until  the  church  left 
Nauvoo ;  but  what  a  changed  home  it  was !  The  spirits 
of  Peace  and  Love  that  had  brooded  over  it  so  long,  folded 
their  white  wings  and  fled,  leaving  the  demons  of  Discord 
and  Hate  in  their  places. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  first  wife  discovered  that  po- 
lygamy was  a  much  more  serious  matter  even  than  she  had 
supposed  it  to  be,  and  that  it  grew  constantly  worse  and 
more  unendurable,  instead  of  better  and  more  easily  to  be 
borne,  as  she  had  been  taught  it  would  become.  She  grew 
to  cordially  hate  the  young  wife,  and  although  they  were 
compelled  to  live  under  one  roof,  she  could  not  even  make 
herself  feel  like  speaking  to  her ;  so  they  lived  without  ad- 
dressing one  word  to  each  other.  She  grew  nearly  insane 
under  this  trouble,  and  was  wrought  up  to  such  a  frenzy  by 
jealousy  and  despair  that  she  committed  the  most  flagrant 
acts  of  violence. 

The  poor  husband  found  himself  in  a  dilemma  from  which 
he  saw  no  way  of  extricating  himself.  He  could  not  under- 


HOW  DO  YOU  MANAGE  AFFAIRS?          145 

stand  how  such  really  good  women  could  behave  so  much 
like  fiends.  Neither  of  them  had  bad  dispositions  natu- 
rally, yet  both  were  perfect  termagants  under  the  new  family 
system.  The  house  was  in  inextricable  confusion,  and  he 
saw  no  way  of  setting  matters  right;  so  he  applied  to  my 
father  for  advice,  he  having  taken  his  second  wife  but  a 
short  time  before.  I  do  not  know  what  advice  he  gave, 
but  I  think  he  must  have  referred  him  to  my  mother,  for  he 
came  to  her,  begging  her  to  assist  him  in  bringing  order  out 
of  the  domestic  chaos. 

"How  do  you  manage  these  polygamous  affairs?"  he 
asked,  anxiously:  "you  do  not  appear  to  be  very  un- 
happy." 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  how  I  manage,"  was  my  mother's  re- 
ply. "  I  am  a  riddle  to  myself;  but  I  do  assure  you  that  it  is 
no  easy  matter  to  live  in  polygamy.  Its  ways  are  not r  ways 
of  pleasantness,'  nor  are  its  paths  '  peace.'  Trials  of  every 
description  grow  constantly  more  numerous." 

"  Yet  y^ou  manage  to  preserve  an  outward  appearance  of 
serenity,  which  is  more  than  we  do.  I  wish  you  would  see 
my  wife  and  reason  with  her ;  I  believe  she  would  listen  to 
you.  Affairs  are  horrible  with  us  :  my  wife  hates  Jane,  and 
it  seems  impossible  to  keep  them  together,  since  she  will  not 
even  try  to  conceal  her  aversion  towards  her.  I  don't  see 
how  I  am  to  keep  them  together,  and  yet  I  cannot  afford  to 
build  another  house.  It  is  a  most  hopeless  fix,  and  I  don't 
see  the  way  out." 

My  mother  promised  him  that  she  would  see  his  wife, 
and  try  to  induce  her  to  bear  her  cross  more  patiently.  But 
what  ?  hypocritical  task  it  seemed  to  her !  While  her  own 
heart  was  breaking  with  the  weight  of  sorrow  and  care, 
she  had  to  counsel  patience  and  resignation  to  another  wo- 
man who  was  suffering  from  precisely  the  same  cause.  It 
seemed  heartless  and  awry,  but  it  was  placed  upon  her  as 
a  duty,  and  she  could  not  shirk  it.  She  upbraided  herself 
for  her  reluctance,  and  prayed  for  more  of  the  ?f  Spirit."  It 
10 


146          SHE  WOULDN'T  ENDURE  IT  ANY  LONGER. 

never  occurred  to  her  that  the  system  was  false  and  horrible 
in  the  extreme ;  she  only  felt  that  she  was  lacking  in  grace 
and  the  true  spirit  of  the  Lord. 

Very  shortly  after  my  uncle's  appeal  to  her,  she  visited  his 
wife,  and  found  her  weeping  as  though  her  heart  would 
break.  Her  first  impulse  was  to  put  her  arms  about  her 
and  weep  with  her.  She  felt  every  throb  of  that  poor  lacer- 
ated heart,  for  her  own  was  torn  with  the  same  anguish ; 
and  for  a  little  while  she  forgot  her  mission,  and  her  wo- 
man's instinct  predominated,  while  she  indulged  in  a  pas- 
sionate burst  of  tears. 

But  horrified  at  what  she  feared  was  a  rebellion  against 
her  God,  she  soon  quieted  herself,  although  her  heart  still 
ached  with  a  pain  which  she  could  not  banish  or  control, 
and  as  delicately  and  tenderly  as  possible  introduced  the 
object  of  her  call.  This  brought  forth  a  wild  outburst  of 
indignant  protest  from  my  aunt ;  and  my  mother  listened, 
not  daring  to  show  her  sympathy  with  the  passionate  utter- 
ances. There  was  quiet  between  them  for  a  while  after 
this ;  then  my  mother,  having  regained  control  of  her  voice, 
said,  — 

"  But  can  you  not  see  that  it  is  your  duty  to  submit  to 
the  "  Order  "  and  be  patient.  You  know  very  well  that  when 
we  cannot  cure  an  ill,  the  only  thing  that  remains  to  be 
done  is  to  endure  it ;  and  we  must  not  rebel  against  any 
doctrine  taught  by  our  leaders,  no  matter  how  hard  it  may 
be  to  live  it." 

"I  don't  believe  !  I  can't  believe  !  I  won't  believe  !  that  it  is 
my  duty  to  submit  to  anything  of  the  kind,"  was  the  quick 
answer,  made  through  stormy  gusts  of  weeping.  "  I  can- 
not live  with  that  woman  in  the  house ;  I  had  rather  die  at 
once.  O,  I  wish  I  could  !  I  wish  I  could  !  Do  you  know," 
continued  she,  turning  round  with  such  suddenness  that  my 
mother  was  fairly  startled,  "  I  shall  take  measures  to  rid 
myself  of  that  nuisance  if  somebody  doesn't  take  her  away  I 
I  can't  endure  it !  I  won't  endure  it  any  longer  ! " 


I    WILL    NOT    LIVE    IN    POLYGAMY.  147 

Mother  tried  to  reason  with  her,  but  she  interrupted  her : 

"  If  any  woman  pretends  that  she  is  satisfied  with  polyga- 
my, she  is  a  hypocrite.  I  don't  believe  her  ;  and  she  knows 
she  is  not  speaking  the  truth." 

My  mother  knew  that  she  designed  this  remark  for  her, 
and  that  she  resented  her  interference ;  but  she  did  not  let 
her  see  that  she  understood  her,  and  determined  to  make 
one  more  effort,  though  she  felt  that  it  was  absolutely  hope- 
less. 

"We  none  of  us  love  the  doctrine  now,"  she  replied  ;  "but 
yet  we  must  submit  to  it  as  a  part  of  our  religion  —  a  duty 
which  that  religion  lays  upon  us ;  and  we  may  grow  to  like 
it  better  by  and  by." 

"Well,"  was  the  sharp  retort,  "it  will  be  soon  enough  for 
me  to  comply  with  its  requirements  when  I  know  it  to  be  a 
duty.  But  at  present  I  do  not  believe  it  to  be  such,  and  I 
cannot,  nor  will  not,  live  in  polygamy ;  on  that  point  I  am 
determined,  and  there  is  no  use  arguing  with  me,  for  I  shall 
not  change  my  mind,  I  am  sure,  and  I  will  not  consent  to 
live  in  a  state  against  which  both  conscience  and  common 
sense  rebel." 

This  ended  my  mother's  only  attempt  as  missionary  in  the 
interests  of  polygamy.  She  had  not  been  at  all  successful, 
and  she  was  only  too  glad  to  drop  the  subject ;  for  her  heart 
was  not  in  it,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  in  this  case  she 
was  a  very  unskilful  special  pleader. 

There  was  no  help  for  it ;  the  young  wife  could  not  hold  out 
against  all  the  opposition  that  was  shown  her,  even  though 
her  husband  made  some  pretence  of  standing  by  her,  and 
she  was  finally  compelled  to  leave  the  house.  She  saw  no 
prospect  of  ever  being  able  to  live  with  her  husband  again, 
and  she  concluded  that  the  best  thing  for  her  to  do  was  to 
put  as  great  a  distance  as  possible  between  herself  and  him  ; 
so  she  went  to  Salt  Lake  with  the  first  body  of  Saints. 

As  Brigham  had  taught  the  women,  if  they  could  not  live 
happily  with  a  man,  to  "  walk  off,"  and  leave  him  without  a 


148  SAVAGE    AFFAIRS  ! 

divorce,  she,  of  course,  felt  freed  from  her  former  marriage, 
and  after  a  year  or  more  she  married  Mr.  Levi  Savage,  a 
single  man,  with  whom  she  lived  very  happily  for  about  two 
years,  when  she  died,  leaving  one  child,  who  is  now  grown 
to  manhood.  Soon  after  Mrs.  Savage's  death,  Mr.  Webb 
and  his  wife  left  the  Missouri  for  Salt  Lake.  The  husband 
died  on  the  way,  and  his  wife  came  on  into  the  valley  with 
her  children. 

Mr.  Savage  was  at  that  time  feeling  very  much  grieved 
over  the  death  of  his  wife,  and  was  exceedingly  pained 
because  she  had  never  been  sealed  to  him  by  the  proper 
authorities.  He  said,  "I  know  she  ought  to  belong  to  me, 
and  I  will  contend  for  her  throughout  all  eternity."  He 
applied  to  the  priesthood  to  have  the  sealing  in  the  Temple 
to  my  uncle  revoked,  that  she  might  be  sealed  to  himself. 
He  was  told  by  the  man  who  "  holds  the  keys  of  life  and 
death,"  that  he  must  wait  until  the  Temple  in  Salt  Lake  was 
completed. 

Mrs.  Webb,  however,  with  wonderful  inconsistency,  con- 
sidering her  former  feeling,  opposed  Mr.  Savage's  wish  by 
every  means  in  her  power,  and  contended  that  this  woman, 
whom  she  could  not  and  would  not  live  with,  ought,  now  she 
was  dead,  to  belong  to  her  husband  ;  and  she  said  it  was 
very  wrong  indeed  for  Mr.  Savage  to  try  and  rob  her  dead 
husband  of  his  rights  and  privileges.  She  evidently  felt 
that  there  was  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  her  ability  to  endure 
polygamy  in  a  future  state,  although  it  was  impossible  to  do 
so  in  this  life. 

After  a  few  years  Mr.  Savage  married  a  widow  and  her 
two  daughters,  and  is  still  living  with  them,  waiting,  mean- 
while, for  the  Temple  to  be  built,  when  he  hopes  to  have 
this  "  spiritual  controversy  "  decided  in  his  favor ;  for  he  has 
not  given  up  his  first  wife,  though  he  has  taken  three  others 
to  solace  him  temporarily  until  she  can  be  given  to  him 
spiritually.  Judging  from  present  appearances,  he  will  have 
to  wait  some  time,  as  there  seems  no  prospect  of  the  Temple 
being  finished  during  this  generation. 


WIFE    NO.    I.    THROWS    BRICKBATS  I  149 

Mrs.  Webb  found  it  a  most  difficult  task  to  provide  for 
herself  and  her  children,  and  becoming  discouraged  in  her 
attempts,  listened  with  more  patience  to  the  doctrines  of  po- 
lygamy than  she  had  done  in  Illinois.  She  was  instructed 
that  it  was  her  duty  to  marry  someone  for  time,  that  she 
might  raise  up  more  children  to  her  dead  husband,  to  swell 
his  "kingdom."  She  took  the  instruction  with  a  properly 
meek  spirit,  and  very  shortly  accepted  the  proposal  of  Bishop 
McRae,  a  distinguished  and  prominent  Mormon,  and  be- 
came Mrs.  McRae  number  two. 

As  may  be  imagined,  Mrs.  McRae  number  one  did  not 
take  kindly  to  the  interloper,  and,  having  a  decided  objec- 
tion to  polygamy,  emphasized  her  objection  by  throwing 
bricks  into  Mrs.  McRae  number  two's  window,  when  their 
mutual  husband  was  her  guest.  She  varied  her  expressions 
of  opposition  and  protest  by  occasionally  sending  a  pistol 
shot,  instead  of  a  brickbat,  through  the  window. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  the  way  to  mention,  just  here,  that 
the  heroine  of  the  brickbat  and  pistol  was,  and  still  is,  the 
President  of  the  Female  Relief  Society  in  her  ward,  and 
that  one  of  her  chief  duties  is  to  instruct  the  young  sisters 
in  polygamy.  I  have  never  heard  whether  she  had  a 
shooting  gallery  attached  to  the  society  rooms. 

Her  plan  of  action  was  quite  successful,  and  she  soon  had 
the  field  again  to  herself;  for  Mrs.  McRae  number  two, 
after  adding  two  children  to  her  husband's  kingdom,  de- 
clined any  longer  to  act  as  a  target  for  Mrs.  McRae  num- 
ber one,  and  left  her  husband  voluntarily,  and  has  since 
lived  in  a  state  of  widowhood.  I  have  often  wondered 
whether  she  had  any  sympathy  for  Jane  Matthews  while 
she  was  herself  the  object  of  persecution. 

I  have  known  all  the  actors  in  this  polygamic  drama, 
except  the  two  who  died.  I  was  too  young  to  have  any 
but  the  most  indistinct  recollection  of  my  uncle,  and  Mrs. 
Savage,  I,  of  course,  could  not  remember  at  all.  But  the 
rest  I  knew  very  well,  all  being  intimate  visitors  at  my 
father's  house. 


w  BUILD    UP    THE    KINGDOM  !  " 


"Build  up  the  kingdom,  build  up  the  kingdom,"  has  al- 
ways been  the  watchword  of  polygamy.  At  Nauvoo  it  was 
whispered  into  the  ears  of  those  who  were  considered  strong 
enough  in  the  faith  to  receive  it  unquestioningly,  but  in  Utah 
it  is  hurled  indiscriminately  at  all  alike.  "  Build  up  the 
kingdom,  whether  you  can  support  it  or  not,"  is  the  almost 
literal  teaching.  The  pecuniary  condition  of  a  man  is 
never  taken  into  consideration.  He  is  expected  to  take  as 
many  wives  as  he  can  support,  then  take  a  few  more  to 
support  themselves  and  their  children. 

The  Apostle  Orson  Pratt  is  one  of  the  most  persistent  po- 
lygamists  in  Utah,  and  he  has  nothing  to  give  his  wives  for 
their  maintenance.  They  struggle  on  as  best  they  may, 
striving  in  every  way  to  earn  a  scanty  sustenance  for  them- 
selves and  their  children.  Some  of  them  live  in  the  most 
wretched  squalor  and  degrading  poverty.  He,  in  the  mean 
while,  goes  on  foreign  and  home  missions,  and  gathers 
thousands  of  unsuspecting  victims  to  "  Zion."  Polygamy 
is  his  favorite  subject,  and  he  grows  very  eloquent  while 
discoursing  upon  it,  quoting  Scripture  freely  in  support  of 

the  glorious  system,  —  which, 
by  the  way,  is  the  only  sup- 
port he  does  give  it,  or  that 
he  feels  it  his  duty  to  afford. 
After  he  has  once  converted 
and  married  a  girl,  she  is  left 
to  shift  for  herself,  or  to 
starve  and  die  of  neglect. 
Two,  at  least,  have  met  this 
fate,  —  one  a  very  pretty 
English  girl,  who  was 
starved,  body  and  heart,  and 
who,  with  her  little  children, 
died  from  exposure,  while  her 
husband  was  at  Salt  Lake,  being  w  entertained "  by  some 
of  his  rich  brothers  in  the  church. 


THE    APOSTLE    ORSON    PRATT, 
"The  Champion  of  Polygamy." 


He  is  still  the  recognized  defender  of  the  gospel  of  poly- 
gamy, and  is  quoted  by  every  one  as  an  authority  ;  his  numer- 
ous and  more  pressing  duties  prevent  his  caring  for  his  family, 
and  nowhere  in  Utah  are  the  wives  more  wretched  or  neg- 
lected, or  children  more  ignorant  and  uncared  for,  than  the 
wives  and  children  of  Orson  Pratt,  the  eloquent  expounder 
of  the  beauties  and  glories  of  a  polygamous  life,  and  the 
best  educated  and  most  able  man,  intellectually,  in  Utah. 

Another  polygamist  of  the  same  stamp  is  Joseph  Young, 
brother  to  Brigham,  and  President  of  the  Seventies.  He 
has  busied  himself  in  "  building  up  his  kingdom  "  ever  since 
Joseph  Smith  gave  him  that  precious  piece  of  counsel  in 
Nauvoo.  When  he  was  a  young  man,  he  married  a  girl, 
and  lived  very  happily  with  her  until  he  learned  from  the 
Prophet  Joseph  that  it  was  not  only  his  privilege,  but  his 
duty,  to  enlarge  his  kingdom  more  speedily  by  marrying 
more  wives. 

His  first  acquisition  was  a  young  widow,  who  listened 
assentingly  to  his  proposals  of  a  "  celestial  marriage,"  and 
soon  after  entered  his  family  as  a  second  wife.  However, 
the  marriage  with  her  did  not  avail  him  much,  as  she  could 
bnly  be  his  for  time.  Her  former  husband  died  a  Mormon, 
knd  she  and  her  children 
would  belong  to  him  in  eter- 
nity. 

He  was  past  the  prirne  of 
life ,  feeble  in  health ,  and  com- 
pelled to  accept  the  support 
of  his  brethren  ;  yet  all  this 
did  not  deter  him  from  doing 
what  was  required  of  him 
by  his  Prophet.  About  the 
time  that  he  married  the 
widow,  he  took  a  young  girl 
for  his  third  wife,  who  was 

JOSEPH    YOUNG,    BROTHER  OF   BRIGHAM,  AND 
Supposed  tO    be    hlS,   and    hlS  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SEVENTIES. 


152  BRIGHAMS    APOSTATE    NEPHEW. 

only,  with  no  former  husband  "behind  the  veil "  to  come 
up  "in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection"  and  lay  claim  to 
herself  and  her  children.  All  his  wives  lived  in  one  house, 
which  had  been  built  for  him  by  the  "  Seventies,"  in  return 
for  his  spiritual  ministrations  in  their  behalf. 

His  first  wife  did  not  like  the  new  family  arrangement 
any  better  than  other  Mormon  women  who  were  first  wives  ; 
but  as  a  matter  of  course,  her  liking  or  disliking  was  not  of 
the  least  consequence.  She  fretted  herself  ill  over  it,  how- 
ever, and  was  prostrated  for  months.  She  had  toiled  and 
suffered  with  her  husband  for  many  long  years,  while  they 
were  journeying  about  with  the  Mormons,  and  she  could 
not  bear  to  have  the  dark  shadow  of  polygamy  cast  over 
the  hitherto  unclouded  happiness  of  their  domestic  life.  It 
seemed  a  terrible  injustice.  Yet,  knowing  her  husband's 
devotion  to  the  faith,  she  would  not  openly  rebel,  although 
she  complied  with  his  demands,  that  she  should  receive  his 
other  wives,  with  a  feeling  of  intense  bitterness,  and  lived 
in  this  unnatural  relationship  with  her  husband  and  his  other 
wives. 

It  is  impossible  to  depict  her  sufferings ;  they  can  never 
be  known  or  realized  outside  of  Mormonism.  It  is  the  very 
refinement  of  cruelty,  this  polygamy,  and  its  hurts  are 
deeper  and  more  poisonous  than  any  other  wounds  can  be. 
They  never  heal,  but  grow  constantly  more  painful,  until  it 
makes  life  unendurable.  She  was  prostrated  for  months 
with  nervous  debility,  seeing  all  the  time  her  family  need- 
ing her  constant  care,  the  care  that  only  a  mother  ca^n  give, 
and  her  husband  all  the  while  devoting  his  energies  to 
"building  up  his  kingdom."  Jt  is  only  just  to  say  that  he 
was  as  kind  to  her  as  the  circumstances  would  permit. 

After  a  few  years  the  invalid  wife  recovered  her  health, 
and  has  been  permitted  to  assist  in  rearing  her  children  to 
respectable  men  and  women  who  do  not  believe  in  poly- 
gamy. One  of  her  sons  has  apostatized,  and  once  pub- 
lished a  paper  in  Salt  Lake  City,  called  "The  Daily  Press" 


BROTHER    BRIGHAM    WAXES    WROTH. 


153 


This  paper  was  of  course  offensive  to  Brigham,  containing, 
as  it  did,  some  unpleasant  truths  regarding  himself  and 
other  authorities  in  the  church,  and  he  determined  to  put  a 
stop  to  its  publication.  Accordingly  he  sent  for  his  brother 
Joseph,  and  said,  on  his  arrival,  — 

"  I  want  that  *  Daily  Press*  suppressed." 
Joseph  "  did  not  know  how  it  was  to  be  done." 
"  I  want  you  to  use  your  influence  with  your  son  to  ac- 
complish my  wish,"  demanded  Brigham. 

w  I  cannot  do  it,"  said  his  brother ;  "  my  son  will  do  as 
he  likes." 

Brother  Brigham  grew  angry.  t?  You  must  put  a  stop  to 
the  printing  of  that  paper ;  I  will  not  endure  the  annoy- 
ance from  it  any  longer." 


BRIGHAM'S  BROTHERLY  LOVE. 

Joseph's  spirit  rose  to  the  occasion.  If  Brigham  was  his 
superior  in  the  church,  he  was  also  a  younger  brother,  and 
he  didn't  like  his  peremptoriness  of  manner ;  so  he  quietly 
answered,  — 

"  I  shall  do  nothing  more  about  it  than  I  have  done.  I 
have  said  all  to  my  son  that  is  necessary,  and  if  he  does 
not  wish  to  follow  my  advice,  he  can  go  his  own  way,  and 
act  according  to  his  own  judgment ;  I  most  certainly  shall 
not  interfere." 


154  A   YOUNG    BRIDEGROOM    OF   EIGHTY  I 

Brigham  was  terribly  angry,  and  he  raved  and  stormed, 
while  Joseph  listened  quietly,  and  then  walked  out,  making 
no  answer  to  his  threats  and  railings.  The  Prophet  evi- 
dently did  not  succeed  in  influencing  or  terrifying  either 
brother  or  nephew,  as  the  "Press"  was  still  published,  and 
continued  to  win  popularity.  I  was  glad  of  its  success,  for  the 
sake  of  the  brave  young  editor,  and  the  mother  who  reared 
him.  She,  at  least,  should  find  comfort  and  support  in  her 
children,  although  everything  else  in  life  has  failed  her, 
even  her  religion  proving  false  and  fatal  to  her  happiness. 

During  his  first  wife's  illness,  Joseph  added  another  widow 
to  his  establishment.  Her  husband  having  been  killed  at 
Nauvoo,  she  wished  to  assist  him  to  build  up  a  kingdom, 
and  so  married  Joseph  for  time.  Shortly  after  another  wo- 
man applied  for  "  salvation  "  at  his  hands,  and  "  conscience  " 
would  not  allow  him  to  reject  her.  When  he  was  about 
seventy  years  of  age  he  added  still  another  to  his  family, 
being  united  to  her  the  same  day  that  I  was  married  to  his 
brother  Brigham,  and  is  still,  although  over  eighty  years 
of  age,  considered  in  the  matrimonial  market. 

Joseph  had  a  real  romance  in  his  youth,  which  connects 
him,  in  memory  and  feeling  at  least,  somewhat  with  my 
mother's  family.  His  first  love,  when  he  was  very  young, 
was  an  aunt  of  my  mother,  for  whom  I  was  named.  He 
was  passionately  attached  to  her,  but  something  occurred 
to  part  them,  and  she  died.  Her  memory  has  always  re- 
mained with  him,  and  he  has  always  loved  her,  in  spite  of 
his  extensive  matrimonial  experience.  He  told  my  mother 
that  he  had  had  Jane,  his  first  wife,  baptized  for  her,  and 
sealed  to  him  for  her ;  so  she  is  to  be  his  in  eternity. 

This  venerable  polygamist  has  nothing  to  support  his 
wives  upon,  or  himself,  for  that  matter,  except  what  is 
given  him  by  the "  Seventies."  In  most  respects  he  is  a 
very  good  man,  much  more  conscientious  and  honest  than 
his  brother  Brigham,  of  whose  conduct  towards  the  people 
he  does  not  approve ;  but  he  has  gone  mad  in  his  desire  to 


w  I    MARRIED    YOU   TEN   YEARS    AGO  !  "  155 

"build  up  his  kingdom,"  and  he  considers  it  a  duty  to  con- 
tinue to  raise  up  a  young  family,  who  must  necessarily  have 
to  "  shift  for  themselves,"  both  in  childhood  and  later  life. 
They  can  have  no  father's  care  or  attention,  no  matter  how 
much  they  may  need  it,  and  he  evidently  does  not  consider 
how  much  misery  he  is  entailing  on  these  children. 

Besides  the  wives  I  have  mentioned,  I  do  not  know  how 
many  he  has  been  sealed  to,  whom  he  does  not  pretend  to 
look  after  in  the  flesh,  but  whom  he  expects  to  "resurrect," 
to  swell  his  heavenly  kingdom. 

It  is  possible  that,  like  Heber  C.  Kimball,  he  may  have 
"  fifty  or  more  scattered  over  the  earth,"  whom  he  has  not 
seen  for  years,  and  whom  he  hopes  he  never  may  see  again 
in  this  world. 

A  very  amusing  story  was  told  me  of  Brigham,  by  a  lady 
who  vouches  for  its  truth  ;  and  although  I  cannot,  of  course, 
corroborate  it,  I  am  quite  ready  to  give  it  credence  enough 
to  publish  it.  Brigham  met  a  lady  in  the  streets  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  several  years  since,  who  recognized  him,  and 
addressed  him  as  Brother  Young,  greeting  him  quite  cor- 
dially. 

He  scrutinized  her  closely,  with  a  puzzled  expression* 
"  I  know  I  have  seen  you  somewhere,"  he  said ;  "your  face 
is  very  familiar,  but  I  cannot  recall  you." 

"  You  are  right,"  replied  she  ;  "  you  have  most  certainly 
seen  me  before;  I  was  married  to  you  ten  years  ago.  I 
have  never  seen  you  since,"  she  continued,  "but  my  mem- 
ory is  more  retentive  than  yours,  for  I  knew  you  the  moment 
I  saw  you." 

Very  few,  even  of  the  most  enthusiastic  Mormon  women, 
were  ready  to  listen  with  any  degree  of  patience  to  the  first 
teachings  of  the  doctrine  of  polygamy.  They  rebelled 
against  it  in  their  hearts,  even  if  they  dared  say  nothing  of 
their  dislike  and  disgust  of  the  system.  Still  less  were  they 
willing  to  advise  or  urge  their  husbands  to  introduce  it ;  and 
never  was  a  woman,  with  one  exception,  heard  to  say  she 


156  A   WOMAN    WHO    LIKED    POLYGAMY. 

was  happy  in  it,  even  if  they  endured  it  with  any  degree 
of  patience. 

The  one  exception  of  which  I  have  spoken  was  an  old 
neighbor  of  ours,  and  quite  a  friend  of  my  mother's,  Mrs. 
Delia  Dorr  Curtis.  Both  she  and  her  husband  were  faithful 
Mormons,  but  he  had,  for  some  time  after  polygamy  was 
taught,  continued  living  "  beneath  his  privileges."  He  was 
constantly  reminded  of  his  remissness  by  the  priesthood, 
until  at  length  he  felt  obliged  to  yield  to  their  teachings, 
and  "  obey  counsel."  When  he  mentioned  the  matter  to  his 
wife,  she  made  no  objections,  but,  on  the  contrary,  she  en- 
couraged him  in  his  decision,  and  proposed  their  niece,  Miss 
Van  Orden,  for  his  consideration. 

Her  husband  was  exceedingly  pleased  with  her  sugges- 
tion. "  She  is  the  very  one  I  should  have  chosen,"  he  said 
in  reply.  He  instantly  made  proposals  for  his  niece,  and 
she,  being  quite  willing  to  marry  her  uncle,  accepted  the 
proposals,  and  was  sealed  to  him  at  once,  Mrs.  Curtis  giv- 
ing the  bride  to  her  husband  with  an  alacrity  and  willing- 
ness which  were  rarely  seen  in  similar  circumstances. 

About  three  months  after  the  celebration  of  the  nuptials, 
the  first  wife  of  this  good  elder  came  to  visit  my  mother,  and, 
as  is  always  the  case  when  two  Mormon  women  meet,  and 
are  together  for  any  length  of  time,  the  talk  turned  on  to 
polygamy,  and  during  the  conversation  Mrs.  Curtis  re- 
marked, — 

"  Well,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  never  have  felt  any 
of  the  stings  of  polygamy." 

"  Do  you  wish  me  to  believe,"  questioned  my  mother,  in 
surprise,  *  that  you  have  seen  your  husband  going  through 
a  courtship  and  marriage  with  a  young  wife,  have  seen 
him  lavish  attentions  on  her  that  have  heretofore  belonged 
alone  to  you,  and  have  never  felt  the  pangs  of  jealousy?" 

"  Yes  ;  I  wish  you  to  believe  all  that." 

"  Well,"  said  my  mother,  somewhat  incredulously,  "  I 
cannot  comprehend  it,  and  if  I  did  not  know  you  to  be  a 


SHE    DEFENDS    THE    SYSTEM.  157 

most  truthful  woman,  I  should  certainly  say  I  did  not  be- 
lieve you." 

Mrs.  Curtis  grew  quite  eloquent  on  the  subject ;  she  and 
the  other  wife  lived  in  one  house,  not  a  large  one  either, 
and  the  relation  between  them  was  amicable  in  the  extreme. 
She  had  always  been  fond  of  Sarah ;  she  was  fonder  than 
ever  of  her  now. 

"Why  should  there  be  so  much  trouble  in  it?"  continued 
she,  waxing  earnest;  "the  Revelation  on  Celestial  Mar- 
riage is  from  the  Lord ;  I  know  it,  and  every  person  might 
have  a  testimony  for  themselves  if  they  would  cultivate  the 
Spirit ;  it  is  wrong  and  absurd  in  us  to  rebel." 

"Yes,  to  be  sure  it  is,"  returned  my  mother,  "  if  one 
knows  it  to  be  true.  I  do  not  know  it ;  I  merely  believe  it, 
and  I  am  not  sure  that  I  quite  do  that  even.  I  try  to  be^ 
lieve  it,  and  try  to  practice  it,  but  I  must  confess  to  many 
anxious  days  and  sleepless  nights  on  account  of  it." 

Mrs.  Curtis  was  horrified  at  my  mother's  lack  of  belief, 
"Why,"  said  she,  "if  I  did  not  have  a  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  truth  of  polygamy,  I  should  lose  all  faith  in  the  other 
principles  of  Mormonism,  I  fear." 

"Not  necessarily  so,"  replied  mother.  "I  still  cling  to 
the  faith ;  I  must  not  relinquish  that ;  but  polygamy  is  a 
hard  cross  to  bear." 

"Not  at  all!  not  at  all!"  asseverated  Mrs.  Curtis;  "if 
you  only  have  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  to  enlighten  your  mind, 
you  will  find  no  difficulty." 

"  Well,  you  certainly  are  an  exception  to  the  general  rule," 
said  mother,  "  and  you  are  far  in  advance  of  me,  though 
I  have  struggled  hard  to  inure  myself  to  the  system." 

"Now  let  me  tell  you  how  we  manage,"  persisted  the 
enthusiastic  defender  of  plurality.  "  When  my  husband 
intends  going  to  Sarah's  apartment,  we  first  kneel  down 
and  have  prayers ;  then  he  takes  me  in  his  arms  and  blesses 
me,  and  after  our  usual  good-night  kiss  we  part,  happy  in 
each  other's  love ;  and  why  should  there  be  any  trouble?  " 


158 

"  The  story  you  are  telling  me  seems  incredible,"  said  my 
mother ;  "  if  it  is  true,  you  are  really  enjoying  a  very  pleas- 
ant dream,  from  which  I  pray  you  may  never  awaken." 

"  O,  no  fear  of  that,"  was  the  quick  reply.  "  I  love  Sarah 
too  well  to  ever  regret  giving  her  to  my  husband ;  and  you 
might  be  just  as  happy,  if  you  would  take  the  right  view  of 
the  subject.  I  am  sure,  if  Sarah  had  children,  I  should  love 
them  as  well  as  my  own,  and  I  really  cannot  see  what  there 
is  in  polygamy  to  cause  so  much  annoyance." 

"Well,"  said  my  mother,  as  the  conversation  ended,  "let 
me  give  you  this  bit  of  advice  —  keep  your  eyes  shut." 

My  mother  did  not  see  her  friend  again,  or  even  hear 
from  her,  for  a  very  long  time ;  but  she  used  often  to  refer 
to  her,  and  wonder  whether  "  the  stings  of  polygamy  "  had 
reached  her  in  all  that  time,  or  whether  she  was  still  as  en- 
thusiastic a  devotee  to  the  system  as  she  was  at  the  time  of 
her  memorable  visit. 

Some  years  after  Mrs.  Curtis's  visit,  the  mother  of  the 
young  wife  became  our  guest.  My  mother,  of  course, 
made  instant  and  interested  inquiries  regarding  the  welfare 
of  the  family.  She  was  quite  surprised  when,  in  answer  to 
them,  the  lady  replied,  — 

"  I  do  not  know  what  to  say  or  to  think  about  Delia.  She 
behaves  in  the  most  peculiar  manner ;  we  all  think  she  may 
be  insane,  and  I  am  very  certain  she  is,  for  no  woman  in 
her  right  mind  would  conduct  herself  in  the  way  she  does." 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter?" 

"  You  know  what  a  disciple  of  polygamy  she  professed  to 
be,  and  how  earnest  she  was  that  Sarah  should  join  the 
family.  She  has  turned  completely  about ;  you  would  not 
recognize  in  her  the  same  person  she  was  before  we  went 
south  to  live.  She  raves  wildly  about  polygamy,  and  says 
as  many  things  against  it  as  she  used  to  say  for  it.  I  never 
heard  anyone  more  bitter  in  my  life.  She  abuses  Sarah  in 
every  possible  way,  — you  know  how  fond  she  used  to  be  of 
her,  —  and  whips  her  children  shamefully.  She  has  become 


SHE    YIELDED    AT    LAST    TO    NATURE.  159 

so  violent  that  Sarah  cannot  live  with  her  any  longer,  even 
if  she  dared  to,  and  she  does  not,  for  Delia  absolutely  ter- 
rifies her  in  some  of  her  rages ;  so  she  is  going  to  move 
away.  I  never  saw  a  person  so  entirely  changed  in  my 
life.  It  is  terrible." 

"  What  has  happened  to  cause  such  a  change  ?  "  asked 
my  mother. 

w  I  do  not  know,  I  am  sure,"  was  the  sad  reply ;  fr  we 
none  of  us  know ;  it  is  a  perfect  mystery  to  us ;  but  of  one 
thing  I  am  quite  assured :  if  she  goes  on  in  the  way  she  is 
going  now,  she  cannot  live  long ;  she  will  literally  wear 
herself  out." 

It  was  less  than  a  year  from  this  time  that  we  heard  of 
her  death.  It  was  evident  she  had  not  been  so  strong  as 
she  imagined,  or  else  the  "  Spirit "  had  deserted  her.  The 
end  of  this  "  happy "  woman's  life  was  not  so  different, 
after  all,  from  that  of  hundreds  of  her  "  unhappy  "  sisters. 
She  was  another  victim  to  polygamy,  that  horrible  system 
which  crushes  women's  hearts,  kills  their  bodies,  and  de- 
stroys their  souls. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE     HARDSHIPS     AND     PERILS     OF     LIFE     IN     A    NEW 

COUNTRY. 

"  Killed  by  the  Indians."  —  How  Apostates  Disappeared.  —  A  Suspicious 
Fact. — How  Brigham  "took  care"  of  the  People's  Property.  —  The 
Mormon  Battalion.  —  Brigham  Pockets  the  Soldiers'  Pay.  —  How  Prose- 
lytes were  Made.  —  Scapegraces  sent  on  Mission.  —  My  Father  goes  to 
Europe.  —  How  Missionaries'  wives  are  Left.  —  Collecting  funcjs  for 
the  Missionaries.  —  Brigham  Embezzles  the  Money. —  The  "Church 
Train."  —  Joseph  A.  Young  as  a  Missionary.  —  His  Misdoings  in  St. 
Louis.  —  What  Brother  Brown  said  of  Him.  —  The  Perpetual  Emigration 
Fund. —  How  the  Money  was  Raised.  —  Cheating  the  Confiding  Saints. 
—  How  Brigham  Manages  the  Missionaries'  Property.—  The  "  Church  " 
makes  Whiskey  for  the  Saints.  —  The  Missionaries  bring  home  new 
Wives.  —  How  English  Girls  are  Deceived.  —  My  First  Baptism. 


HE  first  years  of  life  in  a 
new  country  are  full  of 
hardships,  peril,  and  ad- 
venture, and  all  these  the 
Mormon  people  met. 

I  can  remember  listening 
in  round-eyed  wonder  and 
terror  at  recitals  of  Indian 
atrocities,  for  we  were  sur- 
rounded by  the  wandering 
Southern  tribes,  and  they 
were  constantly  thieving 
from  us,  and  a  murder  was 
by  no  means  an  uncom- 
mon thing.  When  a  man 
left  home  and  failed  to  return,  the  general  verdict,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  was,  "killed  by  the  Indians."  Did  an 


HOW   APOSTATES   WERE   "  KILLED    BY   THE    INDIANS  !  "    l6l 

exploring  party  visit  the  Territory,  and  fail  to  leave  it 
again,  their  fate,  if  it  was  ever  alluded  to  at  all,  was  re- 
garded as  "  massacred  by  Indians." 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  most  of  the  persons  who  thus 
perished  were  Gentiles,  apostates,  or  people  who,  for  some 
reason  or  other,  were  suspected  by,  or  disagreeable  to, 
Brigham  Young ;  and  it  came  presently  to  be  noticed  that 
if  anyone  became  tired  of  Mormonism,  or  impatient  of  the 
increasing  despotism  of  the  leader,  and  returned  to  the 
East,  or  started  to  do  so,  he  invariably  was  met  by  the  In- 
dians and  killed  before  he  had  gone  very  far. 

The  effect  was  to  discourage  apostasy,  and  there  was  no- 
one  but  knew  that  the  moment  he  announced  his  intention 
of  leaving  Zion  and  returning  to  "  Babylon,"  he  pronounced 
his  death  sentence.  He  was  never  discouraged  from  his  plans, 
nor  was  any  disapprobation  of  his  course  expressed.  The 
faces  were  as  friendly  that  he  met  every  day,  the  voices 
just  as  kind ;  his  hand  was  shaken  at  parting,  and  there 
was  not  a  touch  either  of  warning  or  sarcasm  in  the  "  God 
speed  "  and  bon  voyage.  But  he  knew  he  was  a  lucky  man 
if,  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours  after  leaving  Salt  Lake 
City,  he  was  not  lying  face  downward  on  the  cold  earth, 
shot  to  death  by  an  unerring  rifle  ball,  while  the  stars 
looked  sorrowfully  down,  silent  witnesses,  on  this  deed  of 
inhuman  butchery,  and  a  man  rode  swiftly  cityward,  carry- 
ing the  news  of  the  midnight  murder  to  his  master,  who  had 
commanded  him  in  the  name  of  his  religion  to  commit  this 
deed,  and  send  an  innocent  soul  before  its  Maker.  "  Ah, 
poor  fellow  ;  killed  by  the  Indians,"  said  all  his  friends ;  but 
Brigham  Young  and  Bill  Hickman  or  "  Port "  Rockwell 
knew  better. 

The  Indians  have  been  convenient  scapegoats  and  alter- 
nate allies  and  enemies  to  Brigham  Young.  But  he  has 
managed  to  make  warfare,  even  with  them,  a  profitable 
thing  for  himself. 

The  Indians  are  notoriously  thievish  ;  they  will  steal  from 
ii 


l62     BRIGHAM    "TAKES    CARE"    OF    THE    PEOPLE'S    MONEY. 

each  other,  and  from  their  very  best  friends.  Civilization, 
even,  doesn't  seem  to  take  the  taint  from  their  characters  ; 
they  positively  can't  keep  their  hands  off  what  doesn't  be- 
long to  them. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  the  Mormons,  being  their  near 
neighbors,  suffered  very  much  from  their  depredations. 
They  would  often  steal  an  ox,  or,  indeed,  a  large  number  of 
cattle,  when  they  could  do  so  with  comparative  safety ;  the 
owners  would  soon  be  on  their  trail,  and  would  pursue  them 
until  they  reached  them ;  and  sometimes  both  Mormons  and 
Indians  would  be  killed. 

On  occasions  like  these  a  proclamation  would  be  issued, 
by  the  "  authorities,"  for  the  brethren  to  fit  themselves  out 
for  a  campaign  of  indefinite  length  for  the  purpose  of  quell- 
ing the  "  Indian  disturbances,"  and  suppressing  the  trouble  ; 
and  Brigham,  who  always  has  an  eye  to  the  main  chance, 
generally  managed  in  some  mysterious  manner  to  make 
large  sums  of  money  out  of  these  "  wars,"  as  they  were 
called. 

Sometimes  the  manner  of  the  money-making  was  not  at 
all  mysterious.  There  is  one  case  in  particular  which  I 
have  often  heard  spoken  of  by  my  mother  and  other  Mor- 
mons, who  would  have  disapproved  of  the  proceedings,  and 
even  called  them  dishonest,  had  they  dared ;  but  none  of 
them  ventured  to  connect  such  an  adjective  as  that  to  the 
Prophetic  name. 

At  this  particular  time  he  became  so  very  anxious  for  his 
people's  welfare,  and  so  earnest  in  his  endeavors  to  "  pro- 
tect "  their  property,  that  he  sent  Captain  William  Walls,  of 
Provo,  with  a  company,  to  collect  all  the  surplus  stock  from 
the  settlements  south  of  Salt  Lake,  and  drive  them  into  the 
city  for  safe-keeping,  reserving  only  the  necessary  teams 
and  the  milch  cows.  The  orders  were  very  absolute  to 
"  drive  every  hoof  that  could  be  spared." 

At  Cedar  City,  Iron  County,  there  were  three  men  who 
as  absolutely  refused  to  give  up  their  stock,  as  that  was  all 


BRIGHAM    STEALS    THE    CATTLE   OF   THREE    SAINTS.       163 

they  had  to  depend  upon ;  for,  being  poor  men,  with  large 
families,  they  naturally  preferred  to  keep  what  property 
they  had  where  they  could  look  after  it  themselves,  feeling 
certain  that  they  would  take  quite  as  careful  an  interest  in 
it  as  a  stranger  would. 

The  names  of  these  rebellious  men  were  Hunter,  Kcer, 
and  Hadshead.  They  insisted  upon  defending  their  prop- 
erty, and  the  captain  commanded  them  to  be  arrested  and 
put  in  irons,  and  then  he  started  with  them  for  Salt  Lake 
City,  having  previously  secured  all  their  stock.  When  they 


BRIGHAM  "  TAKES  CAKE  "  OF  THE  PEOPLE'S  CATTLE  1 

arrived  at  Parowan,  they  were  chained  together  and  confined 
in  the  school-house,  there  being  no  prison  or  jail  in  the 
place. 

They  were  met  by  George  A.  Smith,  who  at  that  time 
was  on  a  visit  to  the  southern  settlements ;  and  he,  thinking 
the  men  were  treated  with  unnecessary  harshness,  or- 
dered their  irons  taken  off,  and  them  set  at  liberty  and 
allowed  to  return  to  their  families  —  without  their  stock, 
however.  These  men,  after  suffering  such  indignities, 
could  live  among  the  Mormons  no  longer,  and  they  left  for 
California. 


164          THE    PROPHET    ROBS    THE    HELPLESS    WOMEN. 

Their  stock,  with  a  large  herd  of  cattle  collected  in  that 
vicinity,  was  driven  to  Salt  Lake  City,  where  they  remained 
until  they  were  in  proper  order  for  sale,  when  Brigham  sold 
every  one  of  them  to  pay  a  large  debt  which  he  owed  to 
Livingston  and  Kincade,  Salt  Lake  merchants. 

This  was  his  somewhat  novel  method  of  "  protection." 
The  cattle,  to  be  sure,  were  out  of  the  reach  of  the  Indians, 
but  they  were  equally  out  of  the  reach  of  their  lawful  own- 
ers, who  neither  saw  them  again  nor  any  money  which 
accrued  from  the  sale  of  them. 

Some  of  the  owners  ventured  to  ask  if  they  might  be 
turned  in  for  tithing,  but  the  inspired  Prophet  of  the  Lord 
replied,  "No ;  if  you  had  kept  them,  the  Indians  would  have 
stolen  them,  and  you  are  as  well  off  as  you  would  have 
been  if  I  had  not  taken  them."  So  was  he,  and  several 
hundred  dollars  better  off,  too. 

This  reminds  me  of  another  instance  of  Brigham's  faculty 
for  "  turning  things  to  account,"  or,  as  a  young  Mormon 
quite  wittily  said,  "taking  advantage  of  his  opportunities ;  " 
although  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Indians,  yet  it  oc- 
curred at  an  even  earlier  date,  and  was  among  the  first  of 
his  notoriously  dishonest  transactions. 

At  Council  Bluffs,  as  early  as  1846,  he  counselled  five 
hundred  of  his  followers  to  enlist  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States ;  recruits  being  wanted  at  that  time  for  the  war  in 
Mexico.  They  went  without  a  question,  on  being  assured 
that  their  families  should  be  cared  for.  The  church  at  that 
time  was  camped  on  the  Missouri  River,  on  its  way  from 
Nauvoo  to  Salt  Lake. 

The  Mormon  soldiers  —  commonly  called  "The  Battalion" 
—  sent  all  their  pay  to  their  families,  to  the  care  of  Brigham 
Young,  and  he  cared  for  it  so  well  that  the  poor  families 
never  received  it.  John  D.  Lee  brought  the  money  which 
was  collected  from  the  soldiers,  amounting  to  several  thousand 
dollars,  and  gave  it  to  Brigham.  The  families  of  these  sol- 
diers were,  many  of  them,  nearly  starving,  and  all  of  them 


HE    DEFRAUDS    THE    SOLDIERS    OF   THEIR    PAY.          165 

were  very  poor,  needing  sadly  the  money  that  their  hus- 
bands had  sent  them ;  and  in  the  face  of  all  this  destitution 
and  suffering  Brigham  Young  bought  goods  in  Missouri  to 
take  out  to  the  Valley,  and  if  a  soldier's  wife  ventured  to 
ask  him  for  anything,  no  matter  how  trifling  it  might  be, 
she  was  rudely  repulsed,  usually  without  the  slightest  ex- 
cuse for  not  giving  her  what  was  rightfully  her  own. 

The  men  served  in  the  army  two  years,  receiving  pay  all 
the  time,  which  Brigham  pocketed,  and  all  the  time  their 
families  lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  in  the  most 
squalid  poverty,  while  Brigham  came  to  Salt  Lake  in  the 
most  comfortable  manner  possible  at  that  early  day,  and 
lived  on  the  provisions  that  he  had  brought  with  him, 
bought  with  the  money  that  was  not  his.  He  lived  in  what 
would  be  called  luxury  for  the  time  and  the  place,  by  liter- 
ally taking  the  bread  out  of  the  mouths  of  hundreds  of 
needy  women  and  children. 

When  these  men  came  to  Utah,  after  having  been  honorably 
discharged,  they,  of  course,  expected  to  find  their  families 
there.  What  was  their  surprise  on  learning  that  they  were 
still  at  Winter-Quarters,  and  that  no  arrangements  had  been 
made  for  bringing  them  to  the  Valley  !  The  President  of 
the  church  would  not  allow  them  to  go  for  them  until  the 
next  spring,  and  when  they  did  find  them  in  such  a  wretched, 
helpless  condition,  it  is  no  wonder  that  so  many  of  them 
apostatized,  and  refused  to  believe  in  a  religion  whose  chief 
teacher  could  be  capable  of  such  heartless  cruelty  and  mean 
dishonesty. 

It  is  asserted,  by  those  who  have  the  best  means  of  know- 
ing, that  this  war  put  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  Brigham 
Young's  pocket ;  and  yet  he  is  very  fond  of  talking  about  the 
cruelty  and  tyranny  of  the  United  States  government  in 
forcing  five  hundred  of  the  ablest  Mormon  men  into  its 
service  at  a  time  when  they  were  the  most  needed,  and  leav- 
ing the  weak  and  helpless  to  cross  the  plains  without  suf- 
ficient protection. 


l66  BRIGHAM    YOUNG    AS    A    MISSIONARY. 

The  Mormons  have  always  been  very  enthusiastic  on  the 
subject  of  missions.  Probably  no  other  church  has  done 
so  much  both  home  and  foreign  missionary  work  as  the 
Church  of  Latter-Day  Saints.  They  began  by  travelling 
about  the  country,  making  converts  wherever  they  could,  in 
the  days  when  the  entire  church  could  easily  be  numbered  : 
as  they  increased  in  numbers  they  extended  their  work 
across  the  ocean,  and  now  nearly  all  the  work  is  done  in 
England,  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark. 

It  is  a  very  rare  thing  nowadays  to  hear  of  an  American 
convert,  and  the  southern  European  nations  never  did  take 
kindly  to  the  faith. 

Brigham  Young  was  among  the  very  earliest  of  mis- 
sionaries, and  he  was  very  successful  at  proselyting.  He 
was  very  different  then  from  the  haughty,  arrogant  blusterer 
of  to-day.  He  and  his  brother  Joseph  were  the  first  Mor- 
mons that  my  mother  ever  saw,  and  I  have  very  often  heard 
her  describe  the  peculiar  influence  they  exerted  over  her, 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  impressed  her. 

To  her  they  seemed  very  humble  men,  of  the  most  ear- 
nest, devoted  piety  and  intense  religious  zeal,  travelling  about 
"without  purse  or  scrip,"  meeting  with  ridicule,  derision,  and 
persecution,  while  they  preached  "the  gospel  as  taught  by 
Christ  and  his  Apostles."  They  came  to  a  house  where 
she  chanced  to  be  visiting,  and,  after  seating  themselves, 
commenced  singing  one  of  those  earnest,  stirring  hymns  for 
which  the  Mormons  were  at  that  time  celebrated. 

"  Hark  !  listen  to  the  trumpeters, 

They  call  for  volunteers. 
On  Zion's  bright  and  flowery  mount, 

Behold  their  officers. 
Their  horses  white,  their  armor  bright, 

With  courage  bold  they  stand ; 
Enlisting  soldiers  for  their  king, 

To  march  to  Zion's  land. 


ERASTUS  SNOW. 


JOSEPH  F.  SMITH. 


LORENZO  SNOW. 


A.  CARRINGTON. 


C.  C.  RICH. 


MORMON  APOSTLES. 


THE    FOREIGN    MISSIONS   OF    THE    MORMONS.  167 

"  We  want  no  cowards  in  our  bands, 

That  will  our  colors  fly  ; 
We  call  for  valiant-hearted  men, 

Who're  not  afraid  to  die  ; 
Sinners,  enlist  with  Jesus  Christ, 

Th'  eternal  Son  of  God, 
And  march  with  us  to  Zion's  land, 

Beyond  the  swelling  flood." 

They  were  fine  singers,  both  of  them,  and  they  threw  so 
much  fire  and  fervor  into  this  song  that  my  mother  —  young, 
enthusiastic  girl  of  sixteen  —  made  up  her  mind  on  the  spot 
to  enlist  and  follow  this  new  army  to  Zion. 

She  was  baptized  and  confirmed  by  Brigham  Young 
almost  immediately,  and  to  use  her  own  language,  "There 
was  nothing  arrogant,  haughty,  or  tyrannical,  either  in  his 
(Brigham  Young's)  or  Heber  Kimball's  appearance,  as  they 
pronounced,  in  the  most  fervent  manner,  such  glorious 
blessings  upon  me,  a  poor  ignorant  girl,  with  no  one  to 
guide  me,  but  who  had  given  up  my  little  all  in  this  world 
to  follow  their  teachings,  which  to  me  at  that  time  meant 
the  teachings  of  Christ." 

No  sooner  had  the  Saints  become  fairly  settled  in  Utah 
than  Brigham  Young  commenced  sending  the  brethren  off 
on  missions.  He  had,  and  still  has,  a  peculiar  way  of  man- 
aging, quite  original  with  himself.  A  few  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  church  were  sent ;  indeed,  at  that  time  one 
or  more  of  the  apostles  was  kept  in  England  all  the  while, 
and  different  elders  were  sent  to  relieve  each  other,  and  to 
assist  the  apostle  in  taking  charge  of  the  "Branches,"  and 
starting  mission  churches,  which  were  afterwards  held  in 
charge  by  some  resident  brother,  who  was  appointed  elder. 
In  addition  to  these  elders,  any  one  who  displeased  the 
Prophet  was  "  sent  on  a  mission  "  as  a  punishment.  Did 
the  polygamous  Prophet  fancy  a  man's  wife,  he  was  sent  to 
the  farthest  possible  point  from  Zion,  to  "enlist"  souls  for 
the  Mormon  Church.  If  any  young  man  is  suddenly  started 


l68          A  NEW  DODGE  OF  THE  PROPHET. 

"on  a  mission"  to  preach  the  gospel  and  win  souls  to 
Christ,  it  is  safe  to  argue  that  "  he  has  been  a  little  wild,' 
and  is  accordingly  exiled  for  a  while. 

My  father  was  sent  to  England  not  very  long  after  our 
arrival  in  the  Valley,  and  he  had  charge  while  there  of  the 
Sheffield  branch  of  the  church.  My  mother  and  myself 
lived  part  of  the  time  in  Salt  Lake  City  with  Elizabeth  and 
her  family,  and  the  remainder  of  the  time  in  Payson.  As 
the  missionaries  are  all  expected  to  give  their  services,  and 
as  they  are  obliged  to  go  when  ordered,  whether  they  wish 
to  or  not,  the  wives  have  to  take  care  of  themselves  as  best 
they  may.  They  certainly  can  expect  no  aid  from  their 
husbands,  and  they  never  receive  it  from  the  church ;  so,  un- 
less they  can  do  something  to  support  themselves  while  they 
are  left  in  this  way,  they  are  pretty  sure  to  suffer  discomfort, 
and  many  times  actual  want.  My  mother  was  equal  to  the 
occasion,  however,  and  we  got  on  better  than  most  Mormon 
families  do  whose  "head"  has  gone  on  a  mission.  My 
mother  taught  school  most  of  the  time,  either  in  the  city  or  in 
Payson,  and  during  all  the  time  I  studied  with  her. 

Before  sending  his  missionaries  to  England,  Brigham  one 
Sunday  addressed  the  people  in  the  Tabernacle  very  much 
after  this  fashion  :  — 

"Brethren  and  sisters,  the  time  has  been  when  we  were 
compelled  to  travel  without  purse  or  scrip,  and  preach  the 
gospel.  We  have  had  to  beg  our  way  of  an  ungodly  world, 
and  have  gone,  like  the  Apostles  of  old,  trusting  the  Lord  to 
provide  for  us.  And,"  continued  he,  waxing  excited  over 
his  subject,  "  I  have  travelled  on  foot  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  United  States  with  my  shoes  full  of  blood.  Foot-sore 
and  weary,  I  have  often  arrived  at  a  house  and  asked  for  a 
night's  lodging.  I  was  hungry  and  cold  ;  yet  I  was  turned 
away ;  and  many  a  time  I  have  shaken  the  dust  off  my  feet 
as  a  testimony  against  those  people.  But  now  I  want  the 
elders  to  travel  independent  of  the  Gentile  world."  Then, 
after  reading  the  names  of  those  whom  he  had  selected  to 
go,  he  proceeded  with  his  address  :  — 


ROBBING    HIS    OWN    MISSIONARIES.  169 

"  Brethren  and  sisters,  the  missionaries  must  be  supplied 
with  the  necessary  funds  to  defray  their  expenses.  And  I 
want  this  whole  people  to  come  forward  and  donate  freely 
for  this  purpose.  I  do  not  suppose  you  are  all  prepared 
to-day,  but  you  can  call  at  the  office  to-morrow  and  leave 
the  money  with  my  clerk ;  or  we  will  have  another  meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  receiving  donations,  and  so  give  all  the 
opportunity  of  assisting  in  the  noble  work  of  sending  mis- 
sionaries to  a  foreign  land." 

As  an  answer  to  this  appeal  there  was  a  large  sum  raised, 
the  people  responding  generously  to  this  call  for  assistance, 
and  there  was  sufficient  to  carry  all  the  laborers  to  their  ap- 
pointed fields.  What  was  the  surprise,  then,  of  these  men, 
when  calling  on  the  Prophet  previous  to  their  departure,  and 
referring  to  the  subject,  they  were  coolly  told  by  Brother 
Brigham  that  there  was  no  money  for  them  —  "not  one 
cent"! 

"  But  what  are  we  to  do?"  said  the  bewildered  and  dis- 
appointed men,  who  had  relied  on  this  money  to  assist 
them. 

"You  must  go  to  Bishop  Hunter ;  I  have  nothing  for  you," 
was  the  careless  and  heartless  reply. 

Accordingly  they  went  to  the  Presiding  Bishop,  and  after 
telling  him  their  errand,  and  that  they  had  been  sent  by 
President  Young,  he  informed  them  that  there  was  a  "church 
train  "  of  three  hundred  wagons  going  East,,  which  would 
take  them  to  the  frontiers  for  forty  dollars  apiece  ;  "  and  after 
that,"  said  the  bishop,  "you  must  get  to  your  fields  of  labor 
as  best  you  can." 

Now,  the  Mormon  elders  in  those  days  were  poor,  and 
could  barely  support  their  families  when  they  were  at  home. 
And  to  be  informed,  just  at  the  last  moment,  when  they  had 
supposed  they  were  well  provided  for,  that  they  must  defray 
their  own  expenses  to  England,  was  really  a  hard  blow  for 
all  of  them.  And  yet  such  was  their  devotion  to  their 
religion,  that  each  one  paid  his  forty  dollars  to  ride  to  the 


170       SCANDALOUS    DOINGS   OF   THE    PROPHET'S    SONS. 

frontier  in  the  "  church  "  wagons,  and  then  made  their  way 
to  England  at  their  own  expense. 

The  Saints  supposed  that  these  wagons  were  sent  out  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  emigrants  from  the  Missouri  River ; 
but  on  their  return  they  were  loaded  with  freight,  for  which 
Brigham  received  twenty-five  dollars  a  hundred.  Between 
the  amount  paid  for  the  passage  of1  the  missionaries  and  the 
loads  of  freight  on  the  return,  this  "church  train"  certainly 
paid  the  head  of  the  church  very  handsomely  for  that  one  trip. 

Among  the  missionaries  to  England,  during  my  father's 
residence  there,  was  Joseph  A.,  the  Prophet's  eldest  son,  who 
has  recently  died.  He  has  always  had  the  reputation  among 
the  Saints  of  being  a  very  "  fast"  young  man.  In  order,  if 
possible,  to  cure  him  of  some  of  his  propensities  for  evil-doing, 
his  father  decided  to  send  him  on  a  mission,  to  carry  the  light 
of  the  everlasting  gospel  to  the  benighted  nations  of  the  earth. 
When  men  of  family  are  sent,  it  is  generally  because  Brig- 
ham  wants  something  belonging  to  them  which  he  cannot 
get  if  they  are  allowed  to  stay  at  home ;  and  single  men  are 
often  sent  to  convert  the  world,  who  are  not  capable  of 
writing  their  own  names  in  a  legible  manner. 

But  Joseph  A.  was  sent  because  his  father  did  not  know 
what  else  to  do  with  him ;  he  had  become  so  dissipated  and 
caused  so  much  trouble  at  home. 

On  his  way  Joseph  stopped  a  few  days  in  St.  Louis,  after 
which  he  went  immediately  to  England.  He  was  appointed 
in  my  father's  pastorate,  he  being  at  that  time  pastor  over 
several  conferences.  Everything  was  moving  on  harmoni- 
ously, when  another  Mormon  elder,  named  Brown,  arrived 
from  America,  telling  some  hard  stories  about  Joseph's  con- 
duct while  in  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  Brown  circulated  the  reports  that  Joseph  had  drank 
immoderately,  several  times  had  been  beastly  drunk,  and 
had  constantly  and  habitually  visited  most  disreputable  re- 
sorts ;  in  fact,  that  his  conduct  while  in  that  city  had  been 
marked  by  the  most  profligate  excesses,  and  that  it  had  also 


MY  FATHER   "  MAKES    IT    RIGHT    FOR  JOE  !  " 


171 


been  notoriously  open,  very  little  attempt  being  made  on  his 
part  to  hide  it.  He  seemed  to  fancy  that  his  personality  was 
sufficient  protection  from  scandal,  and  that  the  gossips  would 
not  wag  their  tongues  over  the  misconduct  of  a  son  of  Brig- 
ham  Young. 

These  reports  shocked  the  English  Saints  very  much,  and 
many  of  them  were  on  the  point  of  apostasy  on  account  of 
it.  My  father  did  not  doubt  that  there  was  some  foundation 
for  these  stories,  although  he  did  not  think  the  fellow  could 


JOSEPH  A.  YOUNG  PREPARING  FOR  MISSIONARY  WORK. 

be  so  bad  as  he  was  represented ;  and  he  considered  it  his 
duty  to  take  immediate  steps  to  suppress  the  scandal,  since 
it  was  doing  very  great  injury  to  the  cause  of  Mormonism. 
He  accordingly  represented  this  view  of  the  case  to  Mr. 
Brown,  who  listened  earnestly,  and  seemed  quite  convinced 
of  the  truth  and  justice  of  what  my  father  had  said.  He 
took  his  leave,  agreeing  to  "  make  it  all  right  for  Joe." 


172 


YOUNG   "  BRIGGY  "   GETS    INTO    A   FIX  ! 


The  following  Sabbath,  at  the  close  of  the  services,  my 
father  said,  "Mr.  Brown  will  now  have  the  opportunity 
to  retract  the  scandal  which  he  has  put  in  circulation  con- 
cerning Joseph  A.  Young." 

Mr.  Brown  arose  before  the  thousands  of  people  assem- 
bled there,  and  acknowledged  that  he  had  misrepresented 
the  character  of  the  Prophet's  "  beloved "  son,  and,  in  the 
blandest  manner  possible,  made  it  appear  that  Joseph  was 
perfectly  pure,  upright,  and  moral,  and  entirely  above  re- 
proach. 

The  chief  object  of  this  farce  was  to  prevent  apostasy ; 
another  was  to  save  the  Prophet's  son  from  infamy  and  dis- 
grace. My  father,  on  his  return  to  America,  learned  that 
Mr.  Brown's  reports  were  all  true,  and  were  not  exagger- 
ated in  the  least.  Yet  this  dissipated  libertine  was  consid- 
ered sufficiently  good  to  preach  the  truths  of  the  Mormon 
religion  to  "  a  world  lying  in  darkness." 

Brigham  Young's  sons 
usually  distinguish  them- 
selves while  on  their  mis- 
sions, rather  by  their  aptitude 
at  getting  into  scrapes  than 
by  the  number  of  converts 
which  they  make.  Brigham 
Jr.  —  "  the  probable  succes- 
sor," or,  as  he  is  familiarly 
called,  "Briggy" — succeed- 
ed in  distinguishing  himself 
in  England.  The  story  pop- 

E.  HUNTER,  PRESIDING  BISHOP.  lllarly  told    among    the  SailltS 

is,    that   regarding    himself, 

without  doubt,  as  a  "scion  of  royalty,"  and  with  the  egotisti- 
cal assumption  and  the  assurance  which  characterize  his 
father,  and  which  he  honestly  inherited,  he  actually  ven- 
tured, in  spite  of  the  law,  to  drive  the  same  number  of 
white  horses  before  his  carriage  that  the  queen  had  on  her 


HE    DISTINGUISHES    HIMSELF    IN    ENGLAND.  173 

carriage,  and  that  he  was  arrested  and  fined  a  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  offence.  The  true  account  of 
the  matter  is,  that  when  driving  in  one  of  the  London  parks, 
in  a  state  of  inebriety,  he  committed  a  trespass,  for  which 
he  was  arrested  and  mulcted  in  the  ordinary  fine  —  a  few 
shillings,  I  believe.  Brigham,  however,  is  said  to  have 
profited  by  the  exaggerated  story,  and  to  have  made  capital 
out  of  it. 

The  donations  that  year  had  been  unusually  large,  for 
Brigham  had  announced  his  intention  of  "  emigrating  "  a 
larger  number  than  ever  before,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the 
"  Perpetual  Emigration  Fund "  must  be  correspondingly 
increased. 

"  Brethren  and  sisters,"  he  commenced  one  day,  in  his 
most  delicate  and  refined  style,  "you  must  retrench  your 
expenses.  You  have  been  travelling  in  a  direct  line  towards 
eternal  damnation  for  a  long  time ;  now  you  must  turn 
about,  and  show  to  the  Lord  and  His  holy  angels  that  you 
still  desire  to  be  numbered  among  His  people.  I  intend, 
this  year,  to  bring  over  every  Saint  from  the  Old  Country, 
and  you  must  take  hold  and  help  me.  I  want  the  sisters  to 
leave  off  their  ribbons  and  finery,  and  stop  running  to  the 
stores.  I  want  you,  one  and  all,  to  stop  using  tea,  coffee, 
tobacco,  and  whiskey,  and  the  money  you  would  spend  for 
those  things  you  must  donate  for  the  emigration  of  the  poor 
in  Europe.  Now  is  the  time  to  manifest  your  faith  by  your 
works." 

All  the  Saints  in  the  Territory  were  personally  called 
upon  to  assist  in  the  work,  and  responded  generously,  if 
not  willingly.  Poor  women  contributed  their  mites,  and 
poor  men  gave  of  their  hardly-won  earnings,  that  could  ill 
be  spared,  as  they  could  barely  support  their  families  at  the 
best.  In  England,  also,  they  were  made  to  contribute,  and 
many  a  working  man  was  compelled  to  donate  an  entire 
week's  wages.  The  English  Saints  gave  willingly,  and 
suffered  the  privations  caused  by  their  generosity  cheerfully, 


174  THE    PROPHET    SETS    UP   A  WHISKEY    STILL. 

as  they  confidently  expected  to  be  gathered  to  Zion  that 
year.  But  their  suffering  availed  them  nothing,  and  their 
generosity  was  but  ill  repaid.  It  was  years  before  many 
of  these  patient,  long-enduring  Saints  saw  the  Zion  of 
their  hopes. 

As  the  Prophet  has  a  most  decided  objection  to  seeing  any 
of  his  followers  becoming  independent  in  worldly  affairs, 
either  because  he  is  afraid  they  will  be  able  to  act  without 
counsel  or  advice  from  him,  and  so  get  beyond  his  power 
to  manage  them,  or  because  he  is  jealous  of  their  pecuniary 
success,  since  he  has  often  said  that  he  was  the  only  man  in 
the  Territory  who  knew  how  to  make  money  or  how  to  use 
it,  he  always  finds  some  way  to  put  a  stop  to  their  growing 
prosperity.  His  usual  method  of  doing  this  is  by  sending 
them  on  a  mission.  Of  course  their  business  is  at  a  stand- 
still altogether  as  soon  as  the  heads  of  it  are  away ;  and  it 
either  remains  quiet  ever  after,  or,  if  it  is  sufficiently  lucra- 
tive to  make  it  worth  while,  Brigham  manages  to  get  it  into 
his  own  hands,  and  it  is  as  completely  lost  to  its  rightful 
owners  as  though  they  never  had  possessed  it. 

For  a  number  of  years,  two  men  —  named  Badley  and 
Hugh  Moon  —  worked  a  whiskey  distillery  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  appeared  to  be  becoming  rapidly  wealthy.  They 
were  good  Mormons,  staunch  defenders  of  Brigham  Young, 
ready  in  every  good  work  with  open  purses  and  generous 
deeds,  and  they  were  highly  respected  by  the  entire  body 
of  Saints. 

What  was  the  consternation  of  the  church,  when,  during 
the  delivery  of  a  temperance  sermon  on  Sunday,  the  Presi- 
dent, waxing  more  personal,  more  eloquent,  and  conse- 
quently more  abusive,  "cursed,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord," 
the  men  that  ran  the  distillery  ! 

They  knew  very  well  that  these  men  paid  their  tithing 
promptly,  — the  greatest  virtue  a  Mormon  can  possess,  by  the 
way,  —  and  that  they  were  foremost  in  all  charitable  works, 
and  they  marvelled  very  much  that  the  Prophet  should  deal 


HE    ADULTERATES    THE    WHISKEY    TOO    MUCH  ! 

so  hardly  with  them.  His  language  was  so  abusive  that 
Badley ,  who  was  especially  attached  to  the  President  Young, 
shed  tears  during  the  denunciation.  He  finally  finished  his 
anathemas  by  ordering  them  to  take  their  families  and  go 
on  a  mission  to  an  unsettled  portion'  of  the  Territory,  leaving 
their  homes  to  "the  church,"  which,  of  course,  meant  Brig- 
ham  Young. 

As  soon  as  they  had  gone,  the  Prophet  removed  the 
apparatus  for  distilling  a  few  miles  from  the  city,  and  com- 
menced making  whiskey  for  the  church.  But,  unfortu- 
nately, the  church  whiskey  did  not  prove  to  be  so  good  as 
that  made  by  Moon  and  Badley,  and  the  church  distillery 
was  short-lived. 

The  men  who  were  thus  heartlessly  ruined  and  unjustly 
exiled  never  returned.  Their  homes  were  broken  up, 
their  property  taken  from  them,  and  themselves  and  their 
families  banished  to  the  wilderness,  to  gratify  the  covet- 
ousness  and  grasping  of  an  avaricious  tyrant,  who  com- 
mitted this  outrage,  as  he  has  all  others,  with  a  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord." 

Brigham's  missions  may  be  considered  moral  "Botany 
Bays,"  where  he  sends  those  persons  who  in  any  way  incur 
his  sovereign  displeasure.  It  is  an  easy  way  of  punishing 
offenders  ;  and  so  common  has  it  become,  that  lately,  when- 
ever a  man  is  sent  away  on  this  errand,  the  spontaneous 
question  which  arises  to  every  lip  is,  "  What  has  he  done?  " 
This  is  specially  true  of  the  younger  men. 

In  case  of  a  certain  trial  which  took  place  some  years 
since,  Brigham  had  given  his  wishes  to  a  portion  of  the  jury 
as  to  how  the  case  should  be  decided.  After  retiring,  those 
of  the  jury  who  had  received  instructions  from  the  Prophet 
came  to  a  decision  very  readily,  while  those  who  had  not 
been  "  interviewed "  by  him  could  see  no  justice  in  the 
way  they  had  decided,  and  consequently  refused  to  agree 
with  the  others. 

Brigham  was  exceedingly  angry  at  this,  and  took  them 


176 

very  severely  to  task  for  their  disregard  of  his  known 
wishes. 

"Well,  Brother  Brigham,"  said  one  of  the  obstinate  jury- 
men, "the  law  will  sustain  us." 

"  The  law  !  "  said  the  Prophet.  "  What  do  you  suppose 
I  care  for  the  law?  My  word  is  law  here.  I  wish  you  dis- 
tinctly to  understand  that ;  and,"  he  continued,  "  those  men 
who  decided  against  my  view  of  the  case  shall  pay  the 
penalty." 

Very  soon  after  that,  one  of  these  men,  whose  only  fault 
had  been  that  he  would  not  be  coerced  into  committing 
what  he  knew  would  be  a  gross  injustice,  was  sent  on  a 
mission  to  China  ;  another  was  ordered  to  Japan,  a  third  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  one  quite  old  gentleman  was 
appointed  to  Las  Vegas.  This  man  having  grown  gray 
in  the  service  of  the  church,  Heber  C.  Kimball  ventured  to 
propose  that,  in  consideration  of  his  age,  he  be  allowed  to 
remain  at  home,  and  his  son  sent  on  the  mission  in  his 
stead.  The  father  was  actually  too  feeble  to  be  of  any 
service  in  building  up  a  new  place,  and  Las  Vegas  was 
considered  an  important  point  to  secure ;  so,  after  much 
deliberation,  it  was  decided  that  the  son  should  go  in  his 
father's  stead.  Seventy-five  families  were  ordered  to  aban- 
don their  homes,  and  take  their  departure  for  a  new  and 
almost  unknown  portion  of  the  Territory. 

They  expended  thousands  of  dollars  in  building,  fencing, 
and  every  way  beautifying  and  improving  their  new  homes  ; 
and  just  as  they  were  getting  nicely  settled,  and  had  made 
their  new  homes  habitable  and  comfortable,  the  Prophet 
pronounced  it  an  utterly  unsuitable  place  for  a  "  Stake  of 
Zion,"  and  ordered  them  all  back  again ;  so  that  the  years 
passed  there,  and  all  the  expenditures,  were  a  total  toss. 

After  the  son  of  the  aged  juryman  had  paid  the  penalty  of 
his  father's  sin,  he  returned  to  Salt  Lake.  He  has  ever 
since  fearlessly  expressed  his  opinion  of  the  Las  Vegas 
mission,  in  terms  not  very  flattering  to  its  originator,  and 


MISSIONARIES    "ENLARGING    THEIR    KINGDOMS."       177 

Brigham  has  been  obliged  to  withdraw  the  hand  of  fellow- 
ship from  him,  very  reluctantly  indeed,  as  he  had  been 
a  faithful  servant  to  the  President's  interest  for  several 
years. 

As  a  comment  on  his  often  expressed  contempt  of  the  law 
and  of  lawyers,  I  wish  to  say  just  here  that  his  son  Alphilus 
Young  is  at  this  present  time  a  law  student  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan,  sent  there  by  his  father  to  carry  out  his 
own  ambitious  plans  for  his  son's  future,  and  also  to  have  a 
lawyer  in  the  family,  since  he  has  been  forced  to  have  so 
much  to  do  with  the  law  in  late  years. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  none  others  are  sent  on  mis- 
sions except  those  who  are  to  be  punished,  or  got  out  of 
the  way  for  a  while.  Brigham  Young  is  shrewd,  and  so 
with  these  he  sends  every  year  prominent  members  of  the 
church.  All  the  apostles,  and  most  of  the  leading  elders, 
have  been  in  the  mission  work,  both  in  the  States  and  in 
Europe,  and  it  is  in  response  to  their  efforts  that  so  many 
converts  have  been  made. 

The  period  of  my  father's  stay  in  England  was  one  spe- 
cially marked  for  success  in  mission  work.  Very  many  of 
the  leaders  of  the  church  were  there  then,  and  mighty  ef- 
forts were  made  to  secure  converts.  They  worked  day  and 
night  with  unabated  zeal,  and  so  great  was  their  success, 
the  whole  world  marvelled  at  the  number  of  converts  who 
came  yearly  to  Zion. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  families  of  the  missionaries  were 

getting  on  as  best  they  could  at  home,  deprived  not  only  of 

I  their  husbands'  society,  but  of  the  support  which  they  gave 

\  them  when  at  home,  —  scanty  enough    in    some  cases,  I 

assure  you,  and  yet  just  as  much  missed  as  though  it  had 

been  larger,  since  it  was  the  all ;  and  above  all,  there  was 

the  horrible  shadow  of  polygamy  hanging  over  them ;  for 

no  wife  ever  knew  how  much  her  husband  may  have  been 

moved  to  "enlarge  his  kingdom,"  and  the  young  English 

girls  were  apt  to  be  very  much  taken  with  the  American 

12 


ON    POLYGAMY    PUBLISHED. 


elders,  and  they  in  turn  submitted  without  much  struggle 
to  the  fascinations  of  their  youthful  converts.  Very  few  of 
the  missionaries  failed  to  bring  home  an  English  wife,  or 
at  least  to  induce  some  young  girl  to  emigrate  to  Zion,  with 
the  prospect  of  becoming  his  wife  on  her  arrival. 

At  first  polygamy  was  not  preached.  Indeed,  so  very 
careful  were  the  elders  not  to  mention  the  subject,  or  else 
to  deny  polygamy  altogether,  that  many  of  the  girls  sup- 
posed themselves  to  be  the  first  and  only  wives  of  the  men 
whom  they  married ;  and  it  was  not  until  they  reached 
Utah,  and  were  introduced  to  their  husbands'  "  other  wives," 
that  they  were  undeceived. 

So  strong  was  the  feeling  in  England,  that  for  some  time 

after  polygamy  was 
openly  practiced  in 
Utah,  the  missiona- 
ries denied  it,  and 
men  who  had  four 
and  five  wives  liv- 
ing quoted  largely 
from  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  and  other 
church  works,  to 
prove  the  impossi- 
bility of  the  existence 
of  such  a  system. 
At  length,  however, 
they  were  obliged  to 
confess  to  the  truth, 
which  they  did  by 
causing  the  "Reve- 
lation "  to  be  pub- 

in  the  "Millennial  Star?   the   church  organ  pub- 
at   Liverpool.     For    a   while    it  seemed  almost  as 


DOING  MISSIONARY  WORK. 


lished 
lished 


though  all  the  labors  of  the  missionaries  would  go  for 
nothing,  so  many  apostatized.  By  strenuous  effort  and 
redoubled  endeavor,  however,  many  were  still  held  in  the 


SAKE  .   179 

church.  They  were  told  that  polygamy  was  optional ;  that 
while  the  leaders  of  the  church,  many  of  them,  practiced  it, 
"for  conscience'  sake"  since  the  Lord  willed  it,  yet  many 
more  had  not  entered  the  system,  and  probably  never  would, 
and  that  no  one  need  enter  it,  unless  they  felt  themselves 
especially  "  called  by  the  Lord." 

In  England,  as  in  America,  the  men  became  much  more 
easily  reconciled  to  the  doctrine  than  the  women.  The 
latter  had  many  bitter  hours  over  it;  and  yet  each  one,  as 
all  their  American  sisters  before  them  had  done,  thought 
her  husband  would  not  take  a  polygamous  wife,  .although 
he  might  believe  in  the  theory,  and  uphold  those  of  his 
brethren  who  converted  the  theory  into  practice.  They 
had  to  learn,  in  the  intensest  bitterness  of  suffering,  what 
other  women  had  learned  before  them  —  that  their  hus- 
bands were  like  the  majority  of  men,  who  had  temptation 
so  persistently  thrust  in  their  way. 

Even  now  the  men  who  go  on  missions  are  very  guarded 
in  preaching  the  doctrine,  and  advocate  it  only  where  they 
are  very  certain  that  it  will  be  received.  They  admit  its 
existence,  but  they  by  no  means  are  willing  to  confess  to 
what  an  extent  it  is  practiced  ;  and  to  this  day  many  of  them 
win  wives  under  false  pretences. 

It  was  only  a  few  weeks  since,  a  gentleman  living  in  the 
British  Provinces,  on  a  visit  to  some  friends  in  New  Eng- 
land, spoke  of  a  visit  he  had  received  quite  recently  from 
a  lady  friend  from  England,  a  relative,  I  think,  who  had 
become  converted  to  Mormonism,  and  married  one  of  the 
elders  of  the  church,  and  was  on  her  way  to  Utah  with 
him.  She  was  a  very  lovely  person,  and  in  talking  of  her 
new  religion,  concerning  which  she  was  very  enthusiastic, 
deplored  the  existence  of  polygamy  as  its  only  drawback 
to  a  perfect  faith.  Yet  she  said  her  husband  had  told  her 
that  it  was  only  a  doctrine  of  the  church  that  was  rarely 
practiced,  except  by  the  older  Saints,  who  had  received  the 
Revelation  directly  from  Joseph,  and  had  considered  the 


l8o        I   AM    DIPPED    IN    A   POND    BY    BROTHER    TAFT. 

adoption  of  the  system  a  duty ;  that  in  time  it  would  be 
entirely  done  away  with,  except  in  theory,  and  that  at  all 
events  she  need  have  no  fear. 

Great  was  the  surprise  of  the  gentleman  on  learning  that 
she,  who  so  fondly  believed  herself  the  only  wife  of  her 
husband,  made  Number  5  or  6  of  his  plural  wives.  The 
poor  girl  had,  without  doubt,  learned  the  truth  long  before, 
although  her  pride,  no  doubt,  would  prevent  her  from  in- 
forming her  friends  how  cruelly  she  had  been  duped. 

The  Mormon  mode  of  managing  missions  troubled  me 
very  little  during  those  early  days.  I  missed  my  father, 
and  wished  President  Young  would  let  him  come  back.; 
beyond  that  I  had  little  thought  or  care.  I  was  busy  study- 
ing with  my  mother,  and  I  of  course  was  taught  the  ele- 
ments of  the  religion  in  which  she  so  firmly  believed,  and 
on  which  she  so  greatly  depended ;  and,  like  all  children 
of  Mormon  parents,  I  was  baptized  when  I  was  eight 
years  old. 

The  Mormon  people  do  not  baptize  or  "christen  "  their 
infant  children.  When  they  are  eight  days  old  they  are 
"blessed,"  and  they  are  baptized  at  eight  years  of  age.  I 
was  baptized  by  Bishop  Taft,  my  father's  second  wife's 
father ;  and  I  was  exceedingly  terrified.  I  was  taken  to  a 
pond,  and  the  bishop  carried  me  in  his  arms,  and  plunged 
me  into  the  water ;  and  so  great  was  the  nervous  shock  that 
I  could  not  think  of  it  without  a  shudder  for  years  after. 

My  mother  was  glad  when  it  was  over,  for  I  was  made  a 
child  of  the  church,  and  by  this  rite  she  consecrated  me  to 
God  and  the  Mormon  faith.  To  God  I  still  hold  loving, 
trustful  allegiance ;  as  for  the  Mormon  faith,  I  can  never 
be  too  thankful  that  I  have  so  entirely  freed  myself  from 
its  tyrannical  fetters,  that  held  me,  soul  and  body,  in  such 
a  long  and  cruel  bondage. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  UTAH  "  REFORMATION."  — "A  REIGN  OF  TERROR."  — 
THE  BLOOD-ATONEMENT  PREACHED. 

The  Beginning  of  the  Reformation.  —  The  Payson  Saints  Stirred  Up.  — 
What  the  Wicked  "  Saints  "  had  been  Doing  Secretly.  —  The  Old  Lady 
who  stole  a  Radish.  —  Confessing  the  sins  of  Others.  —  A  System  of 
Espionnage.  —  Brigham  bids  them  "  Go  Ahead  ! "  —  The  Story  of  Brother 
Jeddy's  Mule. — The  Saints  receive  a  terrible  Drubbing.  —  Great  Ex- 
citement in  Mormondom.  —  How  the  Saints  were  Catechized.  —  Indeli- 
cate Questions  are  put  to  Everybody.  —  My  Mother  and  Myself  Con- 
fess.—  The  Labors  of  the  Home  Missionaries.  —  Making  Restitution. 
—  Everybody  is  Re-baptized. — "Cut  off  Below  their  Ears."  —  The 
"  Blood-Atonement "  Preached.  —  Murder  recommended  in  the  Tab- 
ernacle. —  Cutting  their  Neighbors'  throats  for  Love.  —  A  "  Reign  of 
Terror  "  in  Utah.  —  Fearful  Outrages  Committed.  —  Murdered  "  by  the 
Indians  "  /  —  Brigham  advises  the  Assassination  of  Hatten.  —  Murder 
of  Almon  Babbitt,  Dr.  Robinson,  the  Parrishes,  and  Others.  —  Blood- 
shed the  Order  of  the  Dav. 


HILE  my  father  was  in 
England  on  mission,  my 
mother  was  urged  very 
strongly  to  go  to  Payson, 
a  town  about  seventy 
miles  south  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  start  a  school 
there. 

She  had  taught  in  Kirt- 
land,  and  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  was  considered 
a  person  of  superior  at- 

AWAKENING  THE  SAINTS.  •  i  ,1          o     *     j. 

tamments  by  the  Saints. 

Her  reputation  as  a  teacher  was  quite  extended  among 
them,  and  since  her  arrival  in  Utah  she  had  often  been 
solicited  to  resume  her  profession.  She  had  always  hith- 


l82  STIRRING    UP    THE    WICKED    SAINTS  ! 

erto  refused  persistently ;  but  now,  finding  her  time  some- 
what unemployed  during  my  father's  absence,  and  wishing 
to  add  to  the  family  funds,  which  were  running  somewhat 
low,  she  decided  to  accept  the  situation,  which  was  fairly 
thrust  upon  her.  Of  course  I  accompanied  her  to  the 
scene  of  her  labors.  I  had  never  been  separated  from  her, 
and  neither  she  nor  I  could  endure  the  thought  of  being 
parted. 

It  was,  I  think,  in  January,  1855,  that  a  Mormon,  named 
Joseph  Hovey,  came  to  Payson  to  preach.  He  was  a  man 
of  an  excitable  temperament,  a  fanatic  in  religion,  and  he 
succeeded  in  stirring  the  people  up  to  a  state  of  the  most 
intense  religious  enthusiasm.  He  held  a  series  of  meet- 
ings, which  were  very  largely  attended,  and  such  was  his 
peculiar  magnetism,  that  he  swayed  and  held  the  multi- 
tudes who  thronged  to  hear  him,  notwithstanding  he  was  a 
man  of  unprepossessing  manner,  little  education,  and  no 
culture.  He  commenced  by  accusing  the  people  of  all 
sorts  of  misdeeds  and  crimes,  and  he  denounced  them  in 
the  most  scathing  and  the  rudest  fashion,  and  they  trem- 
bled under  his  fierce  denunciations,  and  cowered  before 
him  as  before  the  face  of  an  accusing  angel.  He  accused 
them  of  theft,  of  licentiousness,  of  blackguardism,  of  lying, 
of  swindling  and  cheating,  of  hypocrisy  and  lukewarm- 
ness  in  their  religion,  and  of  every  other  sin,  of  omission 
or  commission,  of  which  he  could  think.  He  represented 
himself  as  the  Lord's  messenger,  called  by  Him,  and  sent 
to  warn  the  people  of  Southern  Utah  of  the  horrors  of  their 
situation ;  their  souls  were  in  imminent  peril,  so  weighted 
were  they  with  a  load  of  guilt.  "  Repent,  confess,  and  be 
re-baptized,"  was  his  urgent  call,  "  and  all  your  sins  shall 
be  forgiven  you ;  yea,  verily,  for  so  hath  the  Lord  prom- 
ised." 

The  excitement  grew  daily,  and  his  work  of  "  Reforma- 
tion," as  he  styled  it,  went  bravely  on.  'Meetings  were 
held,  lasting  all  day  and  late  into  the  night.  It  was  reli- 


THE    OLD    LADY    WHO    STOLE    A    RADISH  !  183 

gious  madness  run  riot.  There  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of 
competition  as  to  who  should  confess  the  most  and  the 
oftenest.  The  people  of  Payson  had  been  considered  as 
good  as  average  communities,  but  this  "Reformation"' 
revealed  the  most  astonishing  amount  of  dishonesty  and 
depravity  among  them. 

I  was  at  one  of  the  meetings,  and  I  remember  how 
shocked  I  was  as  one  after  another  arose  and  confessed  the 
crimes  of  which  they  were  guilty.  It  made  a  very  vivid 
impression  on  my  childish  mind,  and  to  this  day  I  can  recall 
the  very  expression  of  the  faces  and  tones  of  the  voices  as 
the  owners  professed  their  criminality.  Many  of  them 
confessed  to  stealing  flour  from  a  mill ;  this,  indeed,  seemed 
a  common  peccadillo ;  others  had  stolen  lumber  for  various 
purposes  ;  and  one  man  said  he  had  stolen  a  sheep.  I  re- 
member this  man  very  distinctly ;  there  happened  to  be  a 
bit  of  wool  sticking  to  his  clothes,  on  the  shoulder,  and  I 
know  I  wondered  if  that  was  from  the  sheep  he  had  stolen. 

Some  had  taken  potatoes,  some  turnips,  some  others 
parsnips,  others  had  taken  all  three ;  one  conscience- 
stricken  old  lady,  who  felt  impelled  to  confess,  and  could 
think  of  nothing  that  she  had  done  wrong,  was  immensely 
relieved  when  she  remembered  that  she  had  taken  a  radish 
without  permission ;  she  seemed,  too,  to  derive  much  con- 
solation from  the  fact  that  "  it  had  burned  in  her  stomach 
ever  since." 

Taking  it  all  in  all,  it  was  a  time  of  the  wildest  confu- 
sion and  the  intensest  ill-feeling.  If  there  were  any  per- 
sons who  did  not  come  forward  readily,  and  acknowledge 
their  faults,  some  one  would  do  it  for  them,  telling  their 
brothers'  and  sisters'  sins  in  the  public  congregation. 

My  mother  did  not  approve  of  the  state  of  affairs,  and 
would  not  countenance  them  any  farther  than  she  was  posi- 
tively compelled  to  do.  It  was  dangerous  to  express  any 
disapproval  of  the  proceedings  ;  so  she  was  obliged  to  keep' 
quiet,  although  she  would  not  take  active  part  in  the  excite- 


104  THAT    TROUBLESOME    MULE    OF  JEDDYS. 

ment.  The  most  fanatical  of  these  blinded  enthusiasts  did 
not  hesitate  to  threaten  the  lives  of  all  who  dared  dissent 
from  them,  and  the  person  who  failed  to  confess  was  looked 
upon  with  suspicion.  A  close  watch  was  kept  upon  the 
actions  of  these  persons,  and  every  word  that  dropped 
from  their  lips  was  noted.  In  fact,  the  entire  church,  with 
few  exceptions,  was  converted  into  a  detective  force,  to 
keep  vigilant  watch  over  those  few  exceptions  who  were 
found  to  be  "  cool  in  the  faith." 

While  the  excitement  was  at  its  height,  Brigham  Young 
was  informed  of  Hovey's  movements,  and  their  results  in 
Pay  son.  The  few  who  were  not  in  sympathy  with  the  ex- 
citement waited  anxiously  for  the  Prophet  to  speak,  expect- 
ing, of  course,  that  when  he  heard  the  state  of  affairs, 
there  would  be  a  summary  stop  put  to  all  these  fanatical 
proceedings.  Many  of  the  surrounding  settlements  were 
very  much  exercised  over  the  conduct  of  the  Payson  peo- 
ple, thinking  they  were  all  going  mad  together ;  and  they 
also  waited  curiously  to  see  what  action  Brigham  would 
take.  He  was  at  Fillmore,  attending  the  legislature,  when 
he  was  told  of  the  excitement  at  Payson,  and  his  repty 
was,  "  Let  them  go  ahead ;  they  won't  confess  to  more  than 
they  are  guilty  of." 

As  may  be  supposed,  this  cavalier  manner  of  treating 
the  matter  surprised  the  more  thoughtful  of  the  Saints, 
who  had  counted  confidently  on  his  interference  ;  but  their 
surprise  increased  tenfold,  when,  the  very  next  winter, 
1856,  Brigham  and  his  counsellors  instituted  a  similar  re- 
form throughout  the  entire  territory.  It  is  said  that  this 
latter  Reformation  was  caused  by  President  Jedediah  M. 
Grant  losing  his  temper  over  a  mule. 

It  seems  that  Brother  Grant  was  to  hold  a  meeting  at  Kays- 
ville,  and  had  invited  several  elders  to  accompany  him. 
To  one  of  these  elders  he  lent  a  mule,  which  should  bear 
him  to  the  appointed  place.  When  he  arrived,  the  sharp 
eyes  of  Brother  Grant  discovered  that  his  mule  was  heated 


THE    BEAST    CREATES    A    SENSATION.  185 

and  somewhat  jaded  ;  and  although  he  made  no  remarks  at 
the  time,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  suavity  itself,  yet  he 
did  not  let  the  brother  go  unrebuked.  After  every  one  had 
spoken  at  the  meeting,  testifying  to  the  utmost  good  feel- 
ing themselves,  and  exhorting  faithfulness  on  the  part  of 
their  hearers,  Brother  Grant  arose  for  the  last  word.  He 
accused  the  speakers  who  had  preceded  him  of  inconsist- 
ency and  hypocrisy  ;  charged  the  bishop  with  inefficiency, 


"  SCENE  DURING  REFORMATION." 


and  his  people  with  all  manner  of  crimes,  and  then  per- 
sonally attacked  the  unfortunate  brother  for  ill-treating  his 
mule.  He  called  upon  everybody  to  repent,  and  "  do  their 
first  works  over  again,"  or  the  judgment  of  God  would 
speedily  overtake  them.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
famous  Utah  "  Reformation,"  of  which  the  local  movement 
at  Payson  was  the  immediate  forerunner.  It  was  the  same 
thing  on  a  much  larger  scale ;  confessions  were  the  order 
of  the  day,  and  accusation  was  as  prevalent  as  confession. 


l86  A   FEW    DELICATE    QUESTIONS. 

It  was  a  horrible  time,  and  one  that  never  will  be  forgot- 
ten b'y  those  who  were  living  in  the  midst  of  the  excite- 
ment. An  impressionable  twelve-years-old  girl,  I  remem- 
ber every  detail  with  wonderful  distinctness. 

This  "  Reformation"  was  more  systematically  conducted 
than  Hovey's  revival ;  a  catechism  was  compiled  by  the 
leading  spirits  of  the  church,  and  printed  by  their  order, 
and  elders  were  appointed  to  go  from  house  to  house  with 
a  copy  of  it,  questioning  the  people.  This  catechism  con- 
tained a  list  of  singular  questions,  many  of  which  I  dis- 
tinctly remember.  I  dare  only  mention  a  few.  They  were 
after  this  style  :  — 

"  Have  you  ever  committed  a  murder  ?  " 

"  Have  you  ever  stolen  anything  ?  " 

"  Have  you  ever  been  drunk?  " 

"Do  you  believe  in  polygamy?  " 

Many  were  grossly  indelicate,  others  laughably  absurd ; 
yet  every  question  was  obliged  to  be  answered  on  pain  of 
expulsion  from  the  church.  Men,  women,  and  children 
alike  were  catechized  ;  many  of  the  little  ones  did  not  know 
the  meaning  of  some  of  the  questions  which  were  put  to 
them ;  but  they  were  obliged  to  answer  them ;  whether 
understandingly,  or  not,  it  made  no  difference. 

It  was  customary  to  catechize  each  member  of  a  family 
separately ;  but  an  exception  was  made  in  our  case,  and 
my  mother  and  myself  were  examined  together.  There 
was  a  great  part  of  the  catechism  that  I  did  not  under- 
stand, but  I  always  answered  as  my  mother  did,  feeling 
sure  that  what  she  said  must  of  a  necessity  be  right.  When 
the  questioning  was  over,  I  was  exhorted  by  the  visiting 
elder  to  obey  my  parents,  and  to  marry  into  polygamy 
when  a  little  older. 

The  elders  that  acted  as  "Home  Missionaries,"  whose 
duty  it  was  to  catechize  the  people,  were  astonished  at  the 
grossness  of  some  of  the  immoralities  which  were  brought 
to  light.  The  private  history  and  secret  acts  of  all  were 


"  CUT    OFF    BELOW   THEIR   EARS  !  "  187 

unfolded.  People  were  accused  of  sins  which  they  never 
had  committed,  and  yet  they  were  afraid  to  deny  them. 
Some  of  the  elders  were  shocked  beyond  measure  at  the 
sickening  details  revealed,  and  begged  that  a  stop  be  put  to 
this  mania  for  confession ;  but  the  poor  fanatics  were  urged 
forward  by  their  leaders,  and  they  firmly  believed  that  in  the 
fullest  and  freest  confession  lay  their  only  hope  of  salvation. 
They  were  goaded  to  the  very  verge  of  frenzy.  Every 
person  throughout  the  Territory  was  commanded  to  be  re- 
baptized,  even  if  their  sins  had  not  been  very  grave.  It  was 
commanded,  too,  that  every,  person  who  had  committed  a 
theft  should  make  good  what  he  had  taken ;  and  I  recollect 
a  man  returning  some  property  to  my  father  which  he  had 
taken  from  the  family  while  my  father  was  in  England : 
some  others  confessed  to  having  stolen  the  fence  from  the 
farm  ;  so,  it  seems,  we  had  suffered  from  the  dishonesty  of  our 
before  presumedly  honest  neighbors.  Throughout  the  whole 
church  there  was  a  general  time  of  accusation,  confession, 
restitution,  and  re-baptism. 

There  were  many  of  the  Mormon  people  who  did  not 
approve  of  all  this  unhealthy  excitement,  and  who  foresaw 
exactly  what  results  would  follow,  yet  not  one  of  them  dared 
venture  a  protest.  It  would  have  been  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives,  as  it  was  publicly  advised,  not  only  by  Hovey  in  Pay- 
son,  but  by  men  in  much  more  prominent  places,  to  punish 
such  persons  as  ventured  a  disapproval  by  w  cutting  them  off 
from  the  church,  below  their  ears" 

It  was  during  this  excitement  that  the  terrible  doctrine  of 
the  Blood-Atonement  was  first  preached.  So  high  did  the 
feeling  run  that  people  who  were  guilty  of  certain  crimes 
were  counselled  to  shed  their  blood  to  save  their  souls. 
Said  the  arch-fanatic  Jedediah  M.  Grant,  in  the  Tabernacle, 
speaking  of  those  who  had  apostatized  or  were  in  danger  of 
apostasy,  — 

"  What  ought  this  meek  people,  who  keep  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord,  to  do  unto  them  ?  c  Why,'  says  some  one, 


188  THE 

'they  ought  to  pray  to  the  Lord  to  kill  them/  I  want  to 
know  if  you  would  wish  the  Lord  to  come  down  and  do  all 
your  dirty  work?  Many  of  the  Latter-Day  Saints  will  pray, 
and  petition,  and  supplicate  the  Lord  to  do  a  thousand  things 
they  themselves  would  be  ashamed  to  do.  When  a  man  prays 
for  a  thing,  he  ought  to  be  willing  to  perform  it  himself." 

In  the  same  sermon  he  said,  — 

"  What !  do  you  believe  that  people  would  do  right  and 
keep  the  law  of  God  by  actually  putting  to  death  the  trans- 
gressors? Putting  to  death  the  transgressors  would  exhibit 
the  law  of  God,  no  matter  by  whom  it  was  done.  That  is 
my  opinion." 

Following  the  expression  of  his  belief,  he  uttered  the  fol- 
lowing fervent  wish  :  — 

"  I  wish  we  were  in  a  situation  favorable  to  our  doing  that 
which  is  justifiable  before  God,  without  any  contaminating 
influence  of  Gentile  amalgamation,  laws,  and  traditions,  that 
the  people  of  God  might  lay  the  axe  to  the  root  of  the  tree, 
and  that  every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  might 
be  hewn  down." 

He  was  so  in  earnest  that  he  would  have  the  atonement 
by  blood  commence  at  once.  Listen  to  his  disinterested 
counsel :  — 

w  I  say  there  are  men  and  women  here  that  I  would  advise 
to  go  to  the  President  immediately,  and  ask  him  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  attend  to  their  case ;  and  then  let  a  place  be 
selected,  and  let  that  committee  shed  their  blood." 

On  another  occasion  he  said,  speaking  in  his  wild,  fanati- 
cal manner,  — 

"  We  have  been  trying  long  enough  with  this  people ;  and 
I  go  in  for  letting  the  sword  of  the  Almighty  to  be  un- 
sheathed, not  only  in  word,  but  in  deed." 

Brigham  Young,  not  to  be  behind  his  counsellor,  assured 
the  Saints  that  this  doctrine  of  throat-cutting  and  blood- 
shedding  was  pleasing  to  the  Lord,  and  that  it  was  a  glorious 
and  soul-saving  belief.  He  says,  — 


HUMAN   BLOOD   TO   BE    SHED  !  189 

w  There  are  sins  that  can  be  atoned  for  by  an  offering  on 
the  altar,  as  in  ancient  days ;  and  there  are  sins  that  the 
blood  of  a  lamb  or  calf,  or  of  turtle-doves,  cannot  remit,  but 
they  must  be  atoned  for  by  the  blood  of  the  man" 

Another  choice  bit  from  one  of  his  Tabernacle  discourses 
is  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  time  is  coming  when  justice  will  be  laid  to  the  line 
and  righteousness  to  the  plummet :  when  we  shall  take  the 
old  broadsword,  and  ask,  *  Are  you  for  God?'  and  if  you  are 
not  heartily  on  the  Lord's  side,  you  will  be  hewn  down." 

In  a  sermon  preached  from  the  text,  —  the  sweetest  and 
tenderest  of  all  the  commandments  given  by  Christ,  —  "Love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  Brigham  Young  put  this  peculiarly 
Christ-like  construction  on  the  words  :  — 

"  When  will  we  love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves  ?  Any  of 
you  who  understand  the  principles  of  eternity,  if  you  have 
sinned  a  sin  requiring  the  shedding  of  blood,  except  the  sin 
unto  death,  should  not  be  satisfied  or  rest  until  your  blood 
should  be  spilled,  that  you  might  gain  that  salvation  you 
desire.  That  is  the  way  to  love  mankind.  Now,  brethren 
and  sisters,  will  you  live  your  religion?  How  many  hun- 
dreds of  times  have  I  asked  that  question?  Will  the  Latter- 
Day  Saints  live  their  religion?" 

He  also  asked  in  the  same  sermon,  — 

"  Will  you  love  your  brothers  and  sisters  when  they  have 
a  sin  that  cannot  be  atoned  for  without  the  shedding  of  their 
blood  ?  Will  you  love  that  man  or  that  woman  well  enough 
to  shed  their  blood  ?  That  is  what  Jesus  meant. 

"  The  time  will  come  when  the  law  of  God  will  be  in  full 
force.  This  is  loving  our  neighbor  as  ourself :  if  he  needs 
help,  help  him ;  if  he  wants  salvation,  and  it  is  necessary 
to  spill  his  blood  upon  the  earth  in  order  that  he  may  be 
saved,  spill  it" 

It  is  no  wonder  that  such  language  as  this,  poured  into  the 
ears  of  the  already  half-crazed  Saints,  should  incite  them  to 
deeds  of  violence.  For  a  while  bloodshed  and  murder  were 


I90 

the  order  of  the  day.  If  any  person  or  family  were  supposed 
to  be  lacking  in  the  faith,  and  failing  to  exhibit  the  usual 
blind  submission  to  the  teachings  of  the  priesthood,  that 
person  or  family  was  sure  to  be  visited  by  some  disaster  — 
whipped,  mobbed,  or  murdered,  and  their  property  de- 
stroyed or  confiscated  to  the  use  of  the  church.  Some  in- 
stances came  under  my  own  observation,  and  I  tell  the  inci- 
dents from  actual  knowledge,  and  not  from  mere  hearsay. 

A  merchant  of  Salt  Lake  City,  an  Englishman,  named 
Jarvis,  was  suspected  of  being  cool  in  the  faith,  and  to  have 
little  or  no  sympathy  with  the  fanatical  proceedings  which 
attended  the  Reformation  and  formed  its  chief  feature.  His 
store  was  entered  one  evening  by  Saints  in  disguise,  he  was 
pulled  over  the  counter  by  the  hair  of  his  head,  dragged 
into  the  street  and  thrown  into  the  snow,  his  store  plundered, 
all  the  money  taken  away,  his  house  set  on  fire,  and  his  two 
wives  barely  given  time  to  escape  with  their  children.  As  an 
excuse  for  all  this  he  was  accused  of  having  "  spoken  against 
the  authorities,  and  had  entertained  Gentiles  at  supper." 

One  of  the  wives  of  Mr.  Jarvis  wrote  quite  a  thrilling 
account  to  some  of  her  English  friends  respecting  their  treat- 
ment ;  and  as  her  story  is  so  simply  and  yet  plainly  told,  I 
shall  insert  it  here,  as  being  the  best  description  I  can  give 
of  it  and  similar  scenes.  It  is  dated  from  "  Weston,  Mis- 
souri," the  August  following  the  year  of  the  Reformation. 

"  After  Mr.  Grimshaw  left  Salt  Lake,  Mr.  Jarvis  made  known 
to  Brigham  Young  his  intention  to  leave  the  Territory  and  return 
to  the  States,  with  his  reasons  for  so  doing ;  but  his  letter  was 
never  answered.  Brigham  made  some  allusion  to  it  in  public, 
which  seemed  to  convey  the  idea  that  he  approved  of  the  course 
Mr.  Jarvis  had  taken,  rather  than  try  to  leave  clandestinely.  From 
that  time  we  began  to  dispose  of  our  property,  and  draw  everything 
into  as  small  a  compass  as  possible.  As  the  winter  drew  on, 
various  reports  were  circulated  ;  such  as,  that  we  intended  to  dis- 
pose of  our  large  house  to  the  soldiers,  and  were  buying  grain  to 
store  it  for  them.  This  is  a  'capital'  offence  in  the  Salt  Lake 
Valley,  for  the  Mormons  protest  that  no  soldier  shall  sleep  in  Salt 


Lake  City  one  night.  It  was  also  said  that  Mr.  Jarvis  had  sworn 
to  take  the  life  of  President  Young ;  that  he  was  boarding  States 
officers  at  his  house ;  and  many  more  such  stones,  as  strange  and 
unlikely  as  they  were  untrue ;  for  when  Mr.  Jarvis  wrote  to  Presi- 
dent Young,  he  made  the  offer  of  all  or  any  part  of  his  property  to 
him  first,  if  he  chose  to  purchase  it,  and  told  him  that  he  would 
rather  sell  it  to  the  church  than  to  any  one  else.  Time  passed  on, 
and  we  heard  some  whispers  that  something  dreadful  was  going 
to  happen  to  us  ;  but  we  thought  little  about  it,  and  felt  perfectly 
safe,  until  the  I3th  of  January,  1857,  when,  at  half  past  six  in  trie 
evening,  a  man  knocked  at  the  fronf  door,  which  was  locked,  and 


DEALING  WITH  A  WEAK  BROTHER. 

asked  for  some  trifling  article  out  of  the  shop.  While  Mr.  Jarvis 
was  attending  to  him,  two  men  walked  in  and  hastily  stepped 
up  to  him.  One  of  them  caught  him  by  the  hair  and  by  the 
collar,  and  pulled  him  across  the  counter,  saying,  'You  are 
my  prisoner.'  Mr.  Jarvis  said,  'For what?  If  you  have  any 
charge  against  me,  I  will  go  where  you  wish/  To  this  no  answer 
was  returned  but  oaths  and  curses.  They  dragged  him  on  the 
ground  some  distance,  and  then  brought  him  back  into  the  door- 
way, all  the  time  trying  to  strangle  him,  and  threatening  to 
shaot  him  if  he  made  any  noise.  One  of  them  made  a  des- 
perate kick  at  him  but  missed  his  aim. 


A   LADY   TELLS    HER   STORY. 

"  In  the  mean  time  Betsey  and  I  were  undressing  the  children  ; 
and  hearing  sounds  of  heavy  footsteps  and  muttering  under- 
tones of  strange  voices  and  persons  struggling  in  the  passage,  we 
looked  at  each  other,  and* rushed  to  the  door,  each  with  a  child  in 
our  arms.  I  succeeded  in  pulling  open  the  room  door  in  the  pas- 
sage, but  I  had  no  sooner  done  so  than  a  man  who  was  holding 
the  door  knocked  me  back  into  the  room,  flat  upon  the  floor,  with 
the  baby  in  my  arms,  and,  shutting  the  door  again,  held  it  fast. 
Instantly  I  laid  the  baby  on  the  carpet,  and,  with  all  my  strength, 
forced  open  the  door,  and  found  myself  surrounded  by  a  number 
of  ruffians,  —  I  believe  five  or  six,  —  who  were  all  in  the  dark,  for 
they  had  extinguished  the  candle,  and  I  calling  aloud  for  Mr. 
Jarvis  several  minutes.  In  the  end  he,  gasping  for  breath,  an- 
swered me. 

"  When  I  found  where  he  was,  I  made  a  desperate  rush  at  the 
man  who  wras  holding  him,  and  the  fellow,  lifting  up  his  hand,  let 
go  his  hold  of  him,  and  he  darted  out  of  the  open  door  like  light- 
ning, across  the  street,  and  round  the  corner  to  a  neighbor's  house 
to  obtain  assistance.  He  got  to  the  door  almost  exhausted,  and 
begged  for  help ;  but  no  one  dared  come  until  the  master  of  the 
house,  who  was  absent,  returned.  They  fetched  him,  and  when 
he  heard  the  particulars  of  the  attack  made  upon  us,  he  said,  '  Sir, 
you  must  leave  my  house  instantly.  I  have  no  sympathy  for  you. 
I  would  not  protect  my  own  father  under  the  same  circumstances.' 
Mr.  Jarvis  said,  'What  have  I  done?'  The  man  replied,  '  You 
have  done  plenty ;  you  covenanted  to  serve  the  Lord,  and  you 
are  serving  the  devil,  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  see  you  with 
your  throat  cut.' 

" After  Mr.  Jarvis  had  made  his  escape  from  the  fiends,  I  turned 
to  enter  the  house  again,  firmly  believing  that  some  of  them  were  in 
pursuit  of  him,  and  begged  to  know  of  the  men  on  the  spot  what 
they  wanted.  On  stepping  forward  to  enter  the  door,  I  found  it 
guarded  by  a  man  on  each  side,  who  pushed  me  backward  into 
the  snow.  I  rose  and  again  attempted  to  enter  the  house,  but  was 
prevented  in  like  manner,  when  I  saw  Mrs.  M.  coming  out  with 
the  babies  in  their  night-gowns,  one  under  each  arm,  to  carry  them 
to  a  place  of  safety.  When  I  found  I  could  not,  after  several  such 
attempts,  force  an  entrance,  I  ran  round  to  the  back  door  and  got 
in,  but  no  sooner  was  I  in  than  out  again.  I  was  tossed  by  the 
same  ruthless  hands  as  before.  Many  a  time  I  was  knocked  down 


TERRIBLE    STORY    OF    TWO    WOMEN. 


193 


in  the  way  I  have   described ;  and  one  of  my  front   teeth  was 
loosened,  and  my  limbs  most  mercilessly  bruised. 

44  Finding  I  could  not  enter  to  ascertain  the  state  of  affairs  in  the 
house,  I  determined  to  let  the  neighborhood  know,  and  for  many 
minutes  stood  shouting  for  help,  until  I  was  exhausted.  I  could 
hear  that  the  windows  were  all  being  broken,  and  the  furniture 
destroyed ;  when  I  was  appalled  by  hearing  Mrs.  M.  shriek  out, 
4  O,  Mrs.  Jarvis,  the  house  is  on  fire ! '  I  instantly  ran  in  des- 
peration, and  got  in  at  the  back  part  of  the  shop,  —  and  O,  my 
dear  sister,  what  a  scene  !  Flames  and  smoke  up  to  the  ceiling; 


BRUTAL  ASSAULT  UPON  MRS.  JARVIS. 

the  goods  in  the  store,  or  shop,  burning ;  and  two  men,  almost 
suffocated,  still  intent  upon  the  work  of  destruction  —  carrying 
lighted  paper,  and  setting  fire  to  everything  that  would  burn  ! 

44  The  thoughts  of  my  three  boys  sleeping  up  stairs  ;  my  hus- 
band, I  knew  not  where,  —  perhaps  murdered,  —  and  seeing 
no  hope  of  saving  the  house  —  for  three  rooms  were  then  burn- 
ing; the  thought  that  to-morrow  I  and  my  children  would 
have  no  home,  no  shelter,  and  be  penniless,  with  the  snow  two 
feet  deep,  and  not  a  friend  that  dare  open  the  door  to  us,  —  they 
dare  not  do  it,  however  much  disposed  they  might  be ;  for  they 
were  threatened  with  the  same,  and  were  told  that  if  they  heard 
the  cry  of  fire  they  were  to  take  no  notice ;  all  these  things  rush- 

13 


194  DOINGS    IN    THE    DARK. 

ing  into  my  mind  at  once,  I  grew  desperate,  and  forced  my  way 
in  at  the  front  door,  and  implored  the  ruffians  to  let  me  fetch  my 
children  clown  stairs.  They  muttered,  '  There's  none  of  them 
there.'  I  said,  'Yes,  they  are  asleep  in  bed/  Then  he  said, 
'Go/  On  passing  up  stairs,  I  saw  on  one  side  the  shop  in 
flames,  and  the  room,  the  furniture  and  windows  broken,  and  our 
clothes  scattered  about,  on  fire.  I  shrieked  out,  when  a  man 
caught  me  by  the  throat,  and  I  had  to  gasp  for  breath.  I  saved 
my  children  in  their  night-dresses,  and  the  oldest  had  to  run  out 
with  the  snow  up  to  his  hips. 

"When  we  found  that  the  villains  were  gone,  we  put  out  the  fire, 
throwing  water  upon  it ;  and  on  one  shelf  was  a  large  canister  of 
gunpowder,  within  six  inches  of  the  flame,  of  which  I  did  not 
know.  I  saved  the  house  from  being  blown  up,  but  I  got  my 
hands  severely  burned.  Four  large  windows  were  broken  out, 
one  dozen  chairs  and  a  table  destroyed  ;  a  stove  and  three  tables 
broken ;  carpets,  clothes,  and  goods  burned  in  the  store ;  and 
many  silver  watches  and  other  substantial  things  stolen,  making 
the  damage  sustained  amount  to  nearly  eight  hundred  dollars. 
Every  clay  after  was  a  living  death,  —  a  dying  daily.  We  were 
never  safe  for  an  hour.  When  we  appealed  to  the  authorities, 
they  advised  us  to  be  quiet  about  it,  and  c  let  it  slide/  And  so 
we  did  ;  for  we  could  obtain  no  redress. 

"  The  outrage  upon  us  was  never  mentioned  in  the  newspaper. 
We  had  to  pocket  the  insult,  and  bear  the  loss ;  apd  now  we  are 
thankful  we  are  out  of  it.  We  exchanged  our  property  for  land 
in  the  States,  hired  conveyances,  and  left  on  the  22d  of  April. 
We  are  now  at  Weston,  eight  miles  from  Leaven  worth,  where  we 
arrived  without  any  interruption ;  but  we  suffered  greatly  from 
the  heat.  We  shall  remain  here  till  Mr.  Jarvis  makes  arrange- 
ments for  our  future  abode." 

My  father  knew  these  people  well  in  England ;  they 
were  from  Leeds,  where  they  were  highly  respected.  I 
have  met  them  quite  recently  in  Burlington,  Iowa,  where 
they  are  living  in  very  comfortable  circumstances.  They 
have  outgrown  all  tendencies  towards  Mormonism,  and  are 
now  among  its  bitterest  opponents. 

This  outrage  is  somewhat  remarkable,  because  it  was 


THE    PROPHET    COUNSELS    MURDER.  195 

unattended  by  bloodshed,  —  a  most  extraordinary  circum- 
stance, when  so  many  were  killed  outright  who  had  sinned 
as  Mr.  Jarvis  had.  Innocent  people  suffered,  and  at  that 
time,  no  Gentile  was  safe  in  the  Mormon  territory. 

A  cousin  of  mine,  whose  parents  lived  in  Utah,  married 
a  man  named  Hatten,  in  Illinois.  When  her  mother  emi- 
grated with  the  Saints,  she,  of  course,  remained  behind 
with  her  husband,  to  her  mother's  great  distress.  After  a 
few  years,  Mr.  Hatten  decided  to  remove  to  California,  and 
he  came  by  the  way  of  Utah,  so  as  to  give  his  wife  an  op- 
portunity of  visiting  her  relatives,  whom  she  had  not  seen 
since  the  exodus  from  Nauvoo. 

At  that  time  it  was  considered  a  dishonor  to  have  a 
friend  married  to  a  Gentile  —  she  was  regarded  as  lost. 
And  for  a  girl  to  be  taken  to  California  was  a  still  deeper 
disgrace. 

My  aunt  and  her  husband  were  devout  Mormons,  and 
the}7  grieved  over  their  daughter  as  over  one  dead.  My 
aunt  prayed  and  wept  for  her  and  over  her;  and  my 
uncle  —  the  girl's  father  —  even  grew  desperate  in  his  de- 
spair. He  consulted  Brigham  as  to  the  best  course  which 
he  should  pursue,  and  the  Prophet's  ready  reply  was,  "Put 
Hatten  out  of  the  way.  It  is  a  sin  and  a  shame  to  have  so 
good  a  woman  dragged  around  the  world  by  a  Gentile.*' 

That  was  sufficient.  In  a  few  days  came  the  startling 
news  that  Hatten  had  been  "killed  by  the  Indians."  He 
had  gone  to  Fillmore  on  a  visit,  from  which  he  was  destined 
never  to  return.  The  young  wife  was  almost  heart-broken 
at  the  sudden  loss  of  her  husband,  but  she  did  not  dream 
what  was  his  real  fate  until  long  afterwards.  She  sup- 
posed he  had  fallen  a  victim  to  Indian  cruelty,  as  the  re- 
ports told  her;  but  when,  after  many  years,  she  learned 
the  bitter  truth,  she  fairly  hated  the  religion  that  had  made 
a  martyr  of  her  husband,  and  brought  sorrow  and  affliction 
to  her.  She  could  not  get  away  from  it,  however ;  there 
was  no  place  to  which  she  could  go ;  she  had  no  friends 


196          "  NOTHING  TO  DO  BUT  ENDURE  I  " 

elsewhere ;  all  the  years  that  had  intervened  between  her 
husband's  death  and  her  knowledge  of  his  real  fate  had 
been  passed  in  Utah,  and  she  had  severed  herself  in  that 
time  most  effectually  from  her  former  friends.  There  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  endure ;  and  that  she  did,  as  patiently 
as  possible.  A  few  years  after  her  husband's  death,  she 
married  again,  but  not  happily.  However,  she  was  speed- 
ily released  from  this  unhappy  bondage.  Heber  C.  Kim- 
ball  had  seen  and  fancied  her,  and  he  went  to  Brigham 
with  the  story  of  her  unhappiness,  and  added,  as  he  fin- 
ished his  recital,  "  She  ought  never  to  have  married  that 
man.  I  designed  her  for  myself." 

"It  is  not  too  late,"  replied  his  friend,  the  Prophet;  "you 
can  have  her  yet."  And  he  made  good  his  word  by 
divorcing  her  from  her  uncongenial  husband,  and  bestow- 
ing her  on  Heber.  She  was  too  indifferent  to  care  what 
became  of  her,  and  she  became  a  Mrs.  Kimball  without  a 
protest.  She  and  her  two  children  are  living  in  Utah  now. 

Another  victim  to  the  Blood-Atonement  was  a  young 
man  named  Jesse  Earl,  a  musician  of  rare  talent  and  great 
promise.  He  was  a  very  intimate  friend  of  the  Prophet's 
oldest  son,  Joseph,  and  had  lived  a  great  deal  in  the  Proph- 
et's family.  The  reason  of  his  death  has  never  been  given  ; 
it  was  only  said  that  his  sins  were  past  forgiveness,  except 
his  blood  should  atone  for  them. 

Apostates  were  even  more  hardly  dealt  with  than  the 
Gentiles.  One  of  the  old  Mormons,  named  Almon  Bab- 
bitt, was  "killed  by  the  Indians,"  on  his  way  to  the  States. 
Mr.  Babbitt  was  among  the  first  seventy  apostles  appointed 
by  Joseph  Smith ;  he  had  been  among  those  who  went  up 
to  Missouri,  to  "Zion's  Camp,"  and  was  an  eloquent 
preacher  and  advocate  of  Mormon  doctrines.  After  Brig- 
ham  came  into  power,  Babbitt  became  quite  disaffected 
towards  the  authorities,  and  left  Utah  to  return  to  the 
States,  when  he  was  overtaken  by  his  doom. 

Once   in   a  while  some   person  would   become   so   con- 


FRIGHTFUL    MURDERS    IN    UTAH. 

science-stricken  for  some  sin  he  had  committed,  that  he 
would  voluntarily  seek  to  make  the  "  Atonement ;  "  but  those 
were  rare  cases.  I  remember  hearing  of  one  at  the  time 
of  its  occurrence.  A  Mormon  named  John  Evan  had  shot 
a  man  in  Council  Bluffs.  He  came  at  once  to  Salt  Lake, 
visited  Brigham,  and  begged  to  atone  for  his  crime  in  the 
usual  way. 

Not  long  after  that,  he  was  on  his  way  home  one  night, 
when  suddenly  the  report  of  a  pistol  was  heard ;  Mr.  Evan 
was  found  dead,  and  although  it  was  currently  reported 
that  he  had  committed  suicide,  it  was  well  known  by  the 
better  informed  that  "  he  had  only  paid  the  debt,"  and  given 
his  life  for  another  that  he  had  taken  by  violence. 

The  Potter  and  Parrish  murders  at  Springville,  and  the 
assassination  of  Dr.  Robinson  at  Salt  Lake,  are  notorious. 
The  Parrish  brothers  were  murdered  for  apostasy,  Dr. 
Robinson  because  he  was  a  Gentile  whose  influence  was 
extending  in  the  Territory,  so  popular  was  he,  and  conse- 
quently the  authorities  considered  him  dangerous. 

More  viyidly  stamped  upon  my  memory  than  any  other 
of  the  horrible  occurrences,  is  the  murder  of  a  woman 
named^  Jones,  and  her  son,  in  Payson.  They  were  sus- 
pected of  falling  away  in  the  faith,  and  other  grave  charges 
were  brought  against  them,  for  which  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary that  they  should  die.  One  night  there  was  a  great 
commotion  in  the  streets  of  the  town ;  pistol-shots  were 
heard ;  there  was  a  sound  of  hurrying  feet,  a  murmur  of 
voices,  and  a  subdued  excitement,  lasting  all  night.  No 
one  dared  to  venture  out  to  learn  the  cause,  lest  their  curi- 
osity should  be  summarily  punished.  In  those  days  it  was 
dangerous  to  seek  to  know  more  than  the  priesthood  chose 
to  tell.  In  fact,  everything  but  a  blind  following  of  fanat- 
ical doctrines  was  dangerous.  Free  thought  was  suicidal. 
The  morning  following  the  night  of  which  I  have  spoken 
put  an  end  to  the  suspense.  It  was  proclaimed  everywhere 
that  the  Joneses  had  been  killed,  and  their  dead  bodies, 


198 


FIENDISH    DOINGS    AT   PAYSON. 


shockingly  mutilated,  were  placed  in  a  wagon,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  crowd  by  being  driven  through  the  streets, 
attended  by  a  jeering,  taunting  mob,  who  could  not  cease 
their  insults  though  their  victims  were  still  in  death.  I  did 
not  see  the  bodies,  nor  did  my  mother,  although  they  were 
driven  past  our  door ;  we  both  shunned  the  fearful  sight. 
But  there  were  plenty  of  women  who  did  look  at  them, 
and  who  gloried  in  their  death  as  a  deed  of  service  to  the 
Lord.  Mrs.  Jones  was  mixing  bread  at  the  time  she  was 
shot,  and  the  dough  still  remained  clinging  to  her  hands 
after  her  death. 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  — SCBNB  DURING  REFORMATION. 

This  was  the  way  that  "  the  Lord"  was  "worshipped"  in 
Utah  in  1856  and  1857.  /  have  heard  men  say,  "If  I 
apostatize,  I  hope  some  of  my  brethren  will  love  me  well 
enough  to  slay  me."  The  Saints  are  by  no  means  a  blood- 
thirsty people,  but  these  are  some  of  the  results  of  the 
teachings  during  the  Reformation. 

It  may  be  a  matter  of  wonder  to  many  how  honest- 
hearted  people  could  remain  in  a  church  that  taught  and 
practiced  so  many  and  such  fearful  evils.  Concerning  the 
murders,  the  majority  of  the  people  knew  nothing,  and  sup- 
posed that  the  Indians  were  the  assassins,  as  they  were 
always  told  so.  Yet  some  were  sufficiently  fanatical  to 


CAN  BRIGHAM  EVER  ATONE?  199 

believe   that,  if  Brigham  was  the   instigator,  it  was  quite 
right.     "  The  ancient  order  of  things  was  being  restored." 

I  have  heard  many  Mormons  declare  that  they  hoped, 
some  time,  light  would  be  thrown  on  these  dark  deeds,  and 
the  murderers  made  to  pay  the  penalty  of  their  crimes. 
But  those  who  suspected  that  the  authorities  of  the  church 
were  implicated  felt  that  their  only  safeguard  was  silence. 
Those  living  in  Utah  during  the  Reformation,  and  seeing  it 
in  all  its  horrors,  as  I  did,  know  very  well  the  spirit  of  the 
teachings  in  the  Tabernacle ;  and  although  many  may  be 
slow  to  impute  the  commission  of  crime  to  Brigham  Young, 
they  cannot  but  admit  that  his  teachings  all  tended  to 
make  crime  prevalent.  And  if  they  do  not  acknowledge 
his  direct  agency,  they  must  see  that  his  influence  all  went 
in  the  direction  of  the  atonement  of  sin  by  blood.  As  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  I  believe 
all  these  murders  lie  at  his  door,  and  that  he  will  have  to 
be  personally  responsible  for  them.  His  hands  are  red 
with  innocent  blood,  his  garments  dyed  with  it,  and  no 
"  Atonement "  can  ever  wash  out  the  damning  spots. 


CHAPTER  XL 

"DIVINE    EMIGRATION."— THE    PROPHET    AND    THE 
HAND-CART   SCHEME. 

Early  Emigration  to  Utah.  —  The  Prophet  Meditates  Economy.  —  The 
"  Divine  Plan  "  Invented.  —  How  it  was  Revealed  to  the  Saints.  —  They 
Prepare  to  "  Gather  to  Zion." — How  the  Hand- Carts  were  Built.  — The 
Sufferings  of  the  Emigrants.  —  On  Board  Ship.  —  An  Apostolic  Quar- 
rel. —  Base  Conduct  of  the  Apostle  Taylor. — The  Saints  arrive  in  Iowa 
City.  —  How  the  Summer-time  was  Wasted.  —  Beginning  a  Terrible 
Journey.  —  Suffering  by  the  Way.  —  "  Going  Cheap."  —  They  reach 
Council  Bluffs.  —  Levi  Savage  Behaves  Bravely.  —  Lying  Prophecy  of 
the  Apostle  Richards.  —  How  the  Emigrants  were  Deceived.  —  Brigham 
Young  sends  Help  to  Them.  —  Two  Apostles  are  Denounced.  —  The 
Prophet  in  a  Fix.  —  He  lays  His  own  Sins  on  the  Backs  of  Others. — 
Preparing  to  Receive  the  Emigrants. 


N  the  history  of  any  people 
there  has  never  been  re- 
corded a  case  of  such 
gross  mismanagement  as 
that  of  gathering  the  for- 
eign Saints  to  Zion  in  the 
year  1856. 

Until  this  disastrous 
year  the  emigrants  had 
always  made  the  journey 
across  the  plains  with  ox- 
teams,  under  the  charge 
of  some  of  the  returning 

THE  EMIGRANTS'  LANDING  PLACE,  elders,     who    were     trilim- 

castic  Gardens,  New  York.  phantly  bringing  the  fruits 

of  their  labors  in  foreign  vineyards  to  garner  them  in  Zion. 
The  able-bodied  walked,  and  those  who  were  too  young,  too 
old,  or  too  feeble  to  perform  the  journey  on  foot,  went  in  the 


201 

wagons  with  the  baggage.  It  was  in  tne  same  way  that  the 
Saints  themselves  made  their  first  journey  across  the  plains, 
and  in  the  proper  season  of  the  year  was  a  safe  and  a  pleas- 
ant journey.  Tedious  and  wearisome,  to  be  sure,  but  in  no 
way  perilous,  as  plenty  of  provisions,  bedding,  and  clothing 
could  be  carried,  not  only  for  the  journey,  but  sufficient  to 
last  some  time  after  the  arrival. 

The  cost  of  emigration  in  this  way  was  from  £10  to  £12, 
English  money,  or  nominally  $50  to  $60  in  gold  —  not 
very  expensive,  surely,  for  a  journey  from  Liverpool  to  Salt 
Lake  City  ;  but  to  Brigham,  in  one  of  his  fits  of  economy,  it 
seemed  altogether  too  costly,  and  he  set  to  work  to  devise 
some  means  for  retrenchment.  During  the  entire  winter  of 
1855-56,  he  and  his  chief  supporters  were  in  almost  con- 
stant consultation  on  the  subject  of  reducing  the  expenses  of 
emigration,  and  they  finally  hit  upon  the  expedient  of  having 
them  cross  the  plains  with  hand-carts,  wheeling  their  own 
provisions  and  baggage,  and  so  saving  the  expense  of 
teams.  The  more  Brigham  thought  of  his  plan,  the  more 
in  love  he  grew  with  it,  and  he  sent  detailed  instructions 
concerning  it  to  the  Apostle  Franklin  D.  Richards,  the 
Mormon  agent  at  Liverpool,  who  published  it  in  the  " Mil- 
lennialStar ',"  as  the  new  "divine  plan  "  revealed  to  Brother 
Brigham  by  the  Lord,  whose  will  it  was  that  the  journey 
should  be  made  in  this  manner. 

My  father  was  in  England  when  the  "  command  of  the 
Lord  concerning  them"  was  given  to  the  gathering  Saints, 
and  their  enthusiastic  devotion  and  instant  acceptance  of  the 
revelation  showed  how  entirely  they  entrusted  themselves  to 
the  leadership  of  their  superiors  in  the  church,  implicitly 
believing  them  to  be  inspired  of  God.  They  were  told  by 
Richards,  in  the  magazine,  and  by  their  missionaries  in 
their  addresses,  that  they  should  meet  many  difficulties, — 
that  trials  would  be  strewn  along  their  path,  and  occasional 
dangers  meet  them,  —  but  that  the  Lord's  chosen  people 
were  to  be  a  tried  people,  and  that  they  should  come  out 


202 


PREPARING    FOR    THE    PILGRIMAGE. 


APOSTLE  FRANKLIN  D.  RICHARDS, 
Husband  of  Ten  Wives. 


unscathed,  and  enter  Zion  with  great  triumph  and  rejoicing, 
coming  out  from  the  world  as   by  great   tribulation  ;  that 

the  Lord  would  hold  them  in 
special  charge,  and  they  need 
not  fear  terror  by  night  nor  pes- 
tilence that  walketh  at  noon- 
day, for  they  should  not  so 
much  as  hurt  a  foot  against  a 
stone. 

It  was  represented  to  them 
that  they  were  specially  privi- 
leged and  honored  in  thus 
being  called  by  the  Lord  to  be 
the  means  of  showing  His 
power  and  revealing  glory  to 
a  world  lying  in  darkness  and 
overwhelmed  with  guilt,  de- 
serted by  God  and  given  over  to  destruction.  Considering 
the  class  of  people  from  whom  most  of  the  converts  were 
made,  it  is  not  at  all  strange  that  all  this  talk  should  impress 
their  imaginations  and  arouse  their  enthusiasm.  Emotion, 
instead  of  reason,  guided  them  almost  entirely,  and  they 
grew  almost  ecstatic  over  the  new  way  in  which  they  were 
called  to  Zion. 

The  United  States  government  was  beginning  to  trouble 
itself  a  little  about  Utah ;  and  in  order  to  make  the  church 
as  strong  as  possible,  in  case  of  an  invasion,  Brigham  was 
anxious  to  increase  the  number  of  emigrants,  and  requested 
Apostle  Richards  to  send  as  many  as  he  possibly  could. 
To  do  this,  the  elders  counselled  all  the  emigrants,  who  had 
more  money  than  they  needed,  to  deposit  it  with  the  Apostle 
Richards  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  the  poor  to  Zion.  The 
call  was  instantly  and  gladly  obeyed,  and  the  number  of 
Saints  bound  Zion-ward  was  thereby  nearly  doubled.  In 
the  face  of  the  disaster  which  attended  it,  it  has  been  the 
boast  of  some  of  the  missionaries  and  elders  that  this  was 


BRIGHAM    SUMMONS    THE    SAINTS.  2O3 

the  largest  number  that  ever  was  sent  over  at  one  time. 
So  much  greater,  then,  is  the  weight  of  responsibility  which 
rests  upon  the  souls  of  those  who  originated  and  carried  out 
this  selfish  design,  made  more  selfish,  more  cruel,  and  more 
terribly  culpable  for  the  hypocrisy  and  deceit  which  attended 
it  from  its  conception  to  its  disastrous  close. 

Great,  however,  as  was  the  number  of  emigrants  who 
that  year  crossed  the  plains  to  Utah,  as  many,  if  not 
more,  have,  during  various  seasons  since  then,  traversed 
the  same  route ;  although,  of  course,  for  obvious  rea- 
sons, it  is  difficult  to  give  approximate  statistics.  During 
the  summer  of  1862  —  the  same  year  in  which  Eliza  Snow 
and  Geo.  A.  Smith,  the  fattest  of  all  fat  apostles,  together 
with  a  select  company  of  Saints,  wandered  off  to  the 
Holy  Land  in  order  to  bring  it  within  the  dominions  of 
Brigham  —  it  was  said  that  more  Mormons  were  landed  at 
Castle  Gardens  than  during  any  other  previous  year.  I 
cannot  say  whether  this  is  true ;  but  it  is  a  fact  that  only 
a  few  weeks  ago  seven  or  eight  hundred  were  landed  in 
New  York,  and  every  few  weeks,  all  through  the  summer, 
other  ship-loads  will  arrive. 

On  the  1 4th  of  March,  1856,  my  father,  who  was  at 
Sheffield,  England,  engaged  in  missionary  work,  received 
a  telegram  from  Richards,  telling  him  to  come  at  once  to 
Liverpool  for  the  purpose  of  taking  passage  for  America  in 
the  mail-packet  Canada,  which  was  to  sail  for  Boston  on  the 
I5th.  He  had  no  time  to  say  good-bye  to  his  friends,  but 
made  his  preparations  hurriedly,  and  left  Sheffield  as  soon  as 
possible.  On  arriving  atLiverpool  and  consulting  with  Rich- 
ards, he  learned  that  he  had  been  sent  for  to  assist  in  the 
proposed  hand-cart  expedition,  and  that  his  part  of  the  work 
was  to  be  performed  in  the  United  States.  He,  being  a 
practical  wagon-maker,  was  to  oversee  the  building  of  the 
carts.  In  twenty-four  hours  after  the  receipt  of  the  tele- 
gram—  his  first  intimation  that  he  was  to  be  called  home  — 
he  was  on  his  way.  The  passage  was  unusually  rough, 


204  APOSTLES       EMBEZZLE    THE    FUNDS. 

and  he  was  glad  enough  to  see  the  shores  of  America  after 
tossing  about  on  the  ocean  for  fifteen  days.  He  landed  in 
Boston  the  3<Dth  of  March,  and  went  immediately  to  Iowa 
City,  the  gathering-place  of  the  Saints  prior  to  their  depart- 
ure for  Utah,  arriving  there  the  loth  of  April. 

He  expected,  of  course,  to  go  to  work  at  once,  and  was 
very  impatient  to  do  so,  as  it  was  very  nearly  the  season 
when  the  emigrants  should  start  to  cross  the  plains,  and  the 
first  vessel  filled  with  them  was  already  due  in  New  York. 
He  knew  that  it  would  be  a  waste  both  of  time  and  money 
to  keep  them  in  Iowa  City  any  longer  than  was  absolutely 
necessary ;  besides  which,  after  a  certain  date,  every  day 
would  increase  the  perils  of  crossing  the  plains.  But  when 
he  arrived,  Daniel  Spencer,  the  principal  agent,  was  east  on 
a  visit,  and  did  not  make  his  appearance  until  an  entire 
month  had  expired ;  and  there  was  all  that  valuable  time 
wasted  in  order  that  one  man  might  indulge  in  a  little  pleas- 
ure. What  were  a  thousand  or  more  human  lives  in  com- 
parison to  his  enjoyment?  Less  than  nothing,  it  would 
seem,  in  his  estimation. 

Not  only  were  there  no  materials  provided  to  work  with, 
but  no  provision  had  been  made  for  sheltering  the  poor 
Saints,  who  had  already  commenced  to  arrive  by  ship-loads. 
Their  condition  was  pitiable  in  the  extreme ;  they  had  met 
nothing  but  privation  from  the  time  they  left  England.  The 
trials  that  had  been  promised  them  they  had  already  en- 
countered, but  so  great  was  their  faith,  that  they  bore  it  all 
without  a  word  of  complaint,  and  some  even  rejoicing  that 
it  was  their  lot  to  suffer  for  the  cause  of  their  religion ;  they 
were  sure  they  should  all  be  brought  to  Zion  in  safety,  for 
had  not  God  promised  that  through  the  mouth  of  His  holy 
Prophet?  Their  faith  was  sublime  in  its  exaltation  ;  and  in 
contrast  to  it,  the  cold-blooded,  scheming,  blasphemous 
policy  of  Young  and  his  followers  shows  out  false,  and 
blacker  than  ever.  To  have  deceived  a  credulous  people 
by  wanton  misrepresentation  is  wicked  enough,  but  to  do  it 


MISERIES    OF    THE    OCEAN-TRANSIT.  205 

win  the  name  of  the  Lord  "  is  a  sin  that  can  never  be  atoned 
for  to  God  or  man.  It  is  the  height  of  blasphemy,  and  I 
fairly  shudder  as  I  endeavor  to  comprehend,  in  some  slight 
degree,,  the  magnitude  of  such  an  offence. 

They  had  been  crowded  and  huddled  together  on  ship- 
board more  like  animals  than  like  human  beings ;  their 
food  had  been  insufficient  and  of  bad  quality ;  the  sleeping 
accommodations  were  limited,  and  there  was  not  the  proper 
amount  of  bedding  for  those  who  were  compelled  to  sleep  in 
the  more  exposed  places.  Some  of  the  persons  who  saw 


MORMON  EMIGRANTS  ON  SHIPBOARD. 


the  emigrants,  say  that  it  was  like  nothing  so  much  as  an 
African  slave-ship,  filled  with  its  unlawful  and  ill-gotten 
freight.  The  air  in  the  steerage,  where  most  of  the  emi- 
grants were,  was  noxious,  and  yet  these  people  were  com- 
pelled to  breathe  it  through  all  the  days  of  the  voyage. 
Many  were  too  ill  to  leave  their  beds,  and  a  change  of 
clothing  was  out  of  the  question.  The  entire  floor  was 
covered  with  mattresses,  and  it  was  impossible  to  walk  about 
without  stepping  over  some  one.  Men,  women,  and  children 
were  huddled  in  together  in  the  most  shameless  fashion. 
Affairs  were  not  much  bettered  when  they  arrived  at  New 


2O6  STRANGERS  —  PENNILESS    AND    HELPLESS  ! 

York ;  the  Apostle  John  Taylor,  whose  duty  it  was  to  pro- 
vide for  them  there,  was  too  deeply  engaged  in  a  quarrel 
with  Apostle  Franklin  D.  Richards,  as  to  which  of  the  two 
was  higher  in  authority,  to  attend  to  these  poor  creatures, 
who  were  thrown  on  his  protection,  penniless  and  helpless, 
in  a  strange  country.  But  everyone  must  understand  that 
his  personal  dignity  must  be  attended  to  and  his  position 
maintained,  if  all  the  poor  Saints  that  were  emigrated,  or 
dreamed  of  emigrating,  should  die  of  starvation  and  exposure. 
I  think  the  great  body  of  Saints  must  have  learned  before  this 
time  that  it  is  by  no  means  safe  to  trust  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  a  Mormon  Apostle.  When,  after  a  while,  the  Apostle 
Taylor's  imperative  personal  business  allowed  him  a  moment 
in  which  to  think  of  the  unhappy  emigrants,  he  started  them 
for  Iowa  City,  where  they  arrived  only  to  experience  a 
repetition  of  their  New  York  sufferings,  and  see  another 
illustration  of  apostolic  neglect.  Nothing  had  been  prepared 
for  them  either  in  the  way  of  shanties  or  tents,  and  they 
were  compelled  to  camp  in  the  open  air,  their  only  roof  a 
sky  that  was  not  always  blue.  While  in  camp,  there  were 
several  very  severe  rain-storms,  from  which,  as  they  had  no 
shelter,  there  was  no  escape  ;  they  got  completely  drenched, 
and  this  caused  a  great  deal  of  severe  illness  among  them. 
They  were  unprotected  alike  from  burning  sun  and  pitiless, 
chilling  rain,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  fevers  and  dysentery 
prevailed,  and  that  hundreds  of  longing  eyes  closed  in  death 
before  they  beheld  the  Zion  of  their  hopes. 

It  would  have  been  strange  if  the  faith  of  some  had  not 
wavered  then ;  yet  none  dared  complain.  There  was  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  go  on  to  the  end.  They  were  thousands 
of  miles  from  home,  with  no  means  of  returning,  and  they 
were  taught,  too,  that  it  would  be  a  curse  upon  them  to  turn 
their  backs  on  Zion.  So  there  they  remained  through  the 
long  summer  days,  waiting  helplessly  until  they  should  be 
ordered  to  move  onward. 

At  length  my  father  saw  his  way  clear  to  commence  his 


BUILDING    THE    HAND-CARTS.  2C>7 

work,  and  he  went  to  work  with  a  will,  pressing  everyone 
who  could  be  of  actual  assistance  into  his  service.  But 
here  the  trouble  commenced  again.  He  was  instructed  to 
make  the  wagons  on  as  economical  a  plan  as  possible,  and 
every  step  that  he  took  he  found  himself  hedged  about  by 
impossibilities.  The  agents  all  talked  economy,  and  when 
one  did  not  raise  an  objection  to  a  proposal,  another  did, 
and  difficulties  were  placed  in  his  way  constantly. 

They  did  not  wish  to  furnish  iron  for  the  tires,  as  it  was 
too  expensive ;  raw  hide,  they  were  sure,  would  do  just 
as  well.  My  father  argued  this  point  with  them  until  at 
last  the  agents  decided  to  give  up  raw  hides,  and  they  fur- 
nished him  with  hoop  iron.  He  was  annoyed  and  angry, 
all  the  while  he  was  making  the  carts,  at  the  extreme  parsi- 
mony displayed.  A  thorough  workman  himself,  he  wanted 
good  materials  to  work  with ;  but  every  time  he  asked  for 
anything,  no  matter  how  absolutely  necessary  it  was  to 
make  the  work  sufficiently  durable  to  stand  the  strain  of  so 
long  a  journey,  the  reply  invariably  was,  "  O,  Brother  Webb, 
the  carts  must  be  made  cheap.  We  can't  afford  this  expen- 
diture ;  you  are  too  extravagant  in  your  outlay ; "  forget- 
ting, in  their  zeal  to  follow  their  Prophet's  instructions,  what 
the  consequences  would  be  to  the  poor  Saints,  if  delayed  on 
their  way  to  the  Valley,  by  having  to  stop  to  repair  their 
carts. 

As  soon  as  was  possible  they  started  companies  on  the 
way.  My  father  strongly  objected  to  any  of  them  starting 
after  the  last  of  June ;  but  he  was  overruled,  and  the  last 
company  left  Iowa  City  the  middle  of  August,  for  a  journey 
across  arid  plains  and  over  snow-clad  mountains,  which  it 
took  twelve  weeks  of  the  quickest  travelling  at  that  time  to 
accomplish  ;  and  in  the  manner  in  which  these  emigrants 
were  going  it  would  take  much  longer.  He  also  opposed 
their  being  started  with  such  a  scanty  allowance  of  provis- 
ions. He  insisted  they  should  have  at  least  double  the 
amount ;  but  in  this  attempt,  also,  he  was  unsuccessful,  and 


2O8  GOING    CHEAP  ! 

one  of  the  survivors  of  the  expedition  afterwards  said  that 
the  rations  which  were  given  out  to  each  person  for  a  day 
could  easily  be  eaten  at  breakfast.  They  consisted  of  ten 
ounces  of  flour  for  each  adult,  and  half  that  amount  for 
each  child  under  eight  years  of  age..  At  rare  intervals,  a 
little  rice,  coffee,  sugar,  and  bacon  were  doled  out  to  the 
hungry  travellers,  but  this  was  not  often  done.  Many  of 
the  people  begged  of  the  farmers  in  Iowa,  so  famished  were 
they,  and  so  inadequate  was  their  food  which  was  sup- 
plied them  by  the  agents.  They  were  limited,  too,  in  the 
matter  of  baggage,  and  again  my  father  tried  to  use  his 
influence,  but  all  to  no  purpose ;  so  much  might  go,  but  not 
a  pound  more. 

Almost  discouraged,  and  altogether  disgusted  with  the 
meanness  and  heartless  carelessness  which  were  exhibited 
throughout  the  whole  affair,  as  far,  at  least,  as  he  had  ex- 
perience with  it,  he  yet  made  one  more  attempt  to  aid  the 
unfortunate  travellers,  whose  trials,  great  as  they  had  been, 
had  really  not  fairly  begun.  His  last  proposition  was,  that 
more  teams  should  be  provided,  so  that  the  feeble,  who 
were  not  likely  to  endure  the  fatigues  of  the  long  march, 
should  have  an  opportunity  of  riding  ;  but  he  wras  met  again 
with  the  inevitable  reply,  "  Can't  do  it,  Brother  Webb.  We 
tell  you  we  can't  afford  it ;  they  must  go  cheap."  It  was 
dear  enough  in  the  end,  if  human  lives  count  for  anything. 

My  father  never  speaks  of  those  days  of  preparation  in 
Iowa  City  that  he  does  not  grow  indignant.  It  might  have 
been  averted  had  not  Brigham  Young  been  so  parsimoni- 
ous, and  his  followers  so  eager  to  curry  favor  with  him,  by 
carrying  out  his  instructions  more  implicitly  than  there  was 
any  need  of  doing.  They  were  only  quarrelled  and  found 
fault  with,  and  reprimanded  publicly  in  the  Tabernacle 
for  their  faithfulness  to  him,  when  it  became  necessary  to 
shield  himself  from  odium  in  the  raatter.  Nothing  more 
would  have  happened  if  they  had  obeyed  the  instincts  of 
humanity,  and  deferred  a  little  to  their  consciences,  and  they 


REMONSTRANCES    OF    NO    AVAIL. 

certainly  would  have  been  better  off,  as  they  would  at  least 
have  retained  their  own  self-respect,  and  the  regard  of  their 
unfortunate  charges,  which,  it  is  needless  to  say,  they  lost 
most  completely. 

When  some  of  the  last  companies  reached  Council  Bluffs, 
—  better  known  to  most  Mormons  as  "Winter-Quarters,"  — 
there  was  considerable  controversy  whether  it  was  best  to 
try  and  go  any  farther  before  spring.  Most  of  the  emi- 
grants knew  nothing  of  the  climate  and  the  perils  of  the 
undertaking,  and  were  eager  to  press  on  to  Zion.  Four 
men  only  in  the  company  had  crossed  the  plains ;  those 
were  captains  of  the  trains  —  Willie,  Atwood,  Savage,  and 
Woodward ;  but  there  were  several  elders  at  this  place 
superintending  emigration.  Of  these,  Levi  Savage  was  the 
only  one  to  remonstrate  against  attempting  to  reach  Salt 
Lake  Valley  so  late  in  the  season.  He  declared  that  it 
would  be  utterly  impossible  to  cross  the  mountains  without 
great  suffering,  and  even  death. 

His  remonstrances  availed  about  as  much  my  father's  had 
done  in  regard  to  their  starting.  He  was  defeated  and  rep- 
rimanded very  sharply  for  his  want  of  faith.  He  replied 
that  there  were  cases  where  "  common  sense  "  was  the  best 
guide,  and  he  considered  this  to  be  one.  "  However,"  said 
he,  "seeing  you  are  to  go  forward,  I  will  go  with  you,  will 
help  you  all  I  can,  will  work  with  you,  suffer  with  you, 
and,  if  necessary,  die  with  you." 

Very  soon  after  the  departure  of  the  last  company  of  the 
emigrants  from  Iowa  City,  my  father,  with  the  other  elders, 
started  for  the  Valley  in  mule-teams,  intending  to  return, 
if  they  found  it  necessary,  to  bring  succor  to  the  poor  wan- 
dering people.  In  the  company  with  my  father  were 
Apostle  Franklin  D.  Richards,  and  Elders  W.  H.  Kimball, 
G.  D.  Grant,  Joseph  A.  Young,  Brigham's  oldest  son,  and 
several  others,  all  of  whom  were  returning  to  Utah  from 
foreign  missions,  and  all  of  whom  had  been  engaged  in 
the  expedition. 

H 


2IO      SHORT  SUPPLY  OF  FOOD  AND  CLOTHING. 

They  overtook  the  emigrants  at  their  camp  on  the  North 
Fork  of  the  Platte  River,  and  camped  with  them  over 
night.  Richards  was  told  of  the  opposition  which  Savage 
had  made,  and  he  openly  rebuked  him  in  the  morning. 
He  then  informed  the  Saints  that  "though  it  might  storm 
on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  yet  the  storms  should  not 
reach  them.  The  Lord  would  keep  the  way  open  before 
them,  and  they  should  reach  Zion  in  safety."  It  may  be 
that  he  believed  all  this  nonsense  himself.  It  is  to  be  hoped, 
for  charity's  sake,  that  he  did.  If  that  were  the  case,  how- 
ever, it  is  a  pity  that  he  had  not  been  endowed  with  a 
little  of  Levi  Savage's  common  sense.  It  would  have  been 
much  better  for  the  Saints  than  all  his  vaunted  "  spirit  of 
prophecy." 

It  is  a  significant  fact,  that  in  the  very  face  of  his  proph- 
ecy, delivered  to  the  victims  of  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
Brigham  Young,  he  was  anxious  to  hasten  his  arrival  in 
Salt  Lake  in  order  to  send  assistance  back  to  the  patient 
Hand-Cart  emigrants,  who,  he  must  have  seen,  would  soon 
be  in  sore  straits  for  food  and  clothing.  The  rations  were 
scanty,  and  would  soon  have  to  be  lessened ;  the  nights 
were  chilly,  and  fast  growing  cold ;  and  already  the  seven- 
teen pounds  of  bedding  and  clothing  allowed  to  each  one 
were  scarcely  sufficient  protection ;  and  as  the  season  ad- 
vanced, and  they  approached  the  mountains,  it  would  be 
totally  inadequate.  It  was  fortunate  that  they  did  not  know 
the  climate  of  the  country,  and  the  terrible  hardships  to 
which  they  were  to  be  exposed,  else  their  hearts  \vould 
have  failed  them,  and  they  would  have  had  no  courage  to 
have  recommenced  the  journey.  My  father  realized  it,  and 
so  did  most  of  the  party  with  him ;  yet  they  had  no  idea 
how  horrible  it  was  to  be,  else  they  would  have  insisted 
upon  their  remaining  in  camp  until  spring.  Even  the  usu- 
ally indifferent  heart  of  Joseph  A.  was  touched,  and  he 
hurried  on  to  impress  upon  his  father  the  urgent  need  for 
immediate  assistance  for  those  poor,  forlorn  creatures  whom 


BRIGHAM  S    RESPONSIBILITY.  211 

he  left  preparing  to  cross  the  mountains,  where  they  would 
of  a  surety  meet  the  late  autumn  and  early  winter  storms, 
and  where  so  many  of  them  must  of  a  certainty  perish  of 
exposure  and  hunger.  He  had  no  faith  in  the  apostolic 
prophecy,  which  seemed  a  mockery  to  all  those  who  knew 
the  hardships  of  the  journey  which  lay  before  these  faithful 
souls  before  they  could  reach  the  Zion  of  their  hopes. 

My  father  had  been  four  years  absent  from  us,  yet  such 
was  his  concern  for  the  poor  people  whom  he  so  recently 
left,  and  who  had  been  his  care  for  so  long,  that  he  could 
only  stay  to  give  us  the  most  hurried  greetings.  His  glad- 
ness at  his  return,  and  our  responsive  joy,  were  marred  by 
the  thought  of  the  sufferings  and  privations  of  those  ear- 
nest, simple-hearted  Saints,  who  had  literally  left  all  to  fol- 
low the  beck  of  one  whom  they  supposed  to  be  the  Prophet 
of  the  Lord.  After  all  these  years  of  absence,  he  only 
staid  two  days  with  us,  —  as  short  a  time  as  it  could  pos- 
sibly take  to  get  the  relief-train  ready  with  the  supplies. 

I  think  Brigham  Young's  heart  and  conscience  must  have 
been  touched,  for  he  really  seemed  for  a  while  to  forget 
himself  in  the  earnestness  with  which  he  pushed  forward 
the  preparations  for  relief.  He  fairly  arose  to  the  occasion, 
and  held  back  nothing  which  could  contribute  to  the  com- 
fort and  welfare  of  his  poor,  forlorn  followers.  Yet  he  was 
only  acting  as  both  justice  and  decency  commanded  that  he 
should  act.  He  was  the  cause  of  all  this  terrible  suffering, 
and  he  felt  that  he  should  be  made  answerable.  Such  a 
transaction  as  this  could  by  no  means  remain  unknown.  It 
would  be  spread  over  America  and  Europe,  and  used  as  a 
strong  weapon  against  Mormonism  and  its  leader,  already 
unpopular  enough.  He  realized  the  mistake  he  had  made 
when  too  late  to  rectify  it,  and,  with  his  usual  moral  cow- 
ardice, he  set  about  hunting  for  somebody  on  whose  shoul- 
ders to  shift  the  blame  from  his  own.  Richards  and  Spen- 
cer were  the  unfortunate  victims,  and  he  turned  his  wrath 
against  them,  in  private  conversation  and  in  public  assem- 


212  SHIFTING    THE    BLAME. 

blies,  until  they  were  nearly  crushed  by  the  weight  of  op- 
probrium which  he  heaped  upon  them.  He  was  nearly 
beside  himself  with  fear,  of  the  consequences  which  would 
follow,  when  this  crowning  act  of  selfish  cupidity  and  ego- 
tistical vanity  and  presumption  should  be  known.  Love  of 
approbation  is  a  striking  characteristic  of  this  Latter-Day 
Prophet,  and  he  puffs  and  swells  with  self-importance  at 
every  word  he  receives,  even  of  the  baldest,  most  insincere 
flattery,  and  he  cringes  and  crouches  in  as  servile  a  man- 
ner as  a  whipped  cur,  when  any  adverse  criticism  is  passed 
upon  either  his  -personnel  or  his  actions.  A  moral  as  well 
as  a  physical  coward,  he  dares  not  face  a  just  opinion  of 
himself  and  his  deeds,  and  he  sneaks,  and  skulks,  and 
hides  behind  any  one  he  can  find  who  is  broad  enough  to 
shield  him. 

My  father's  disgust  at  a  religion  which  submitted  to  such 
chicanery,  and  his  distrust  of  Brigham  Young,  were  so 
great,  that  he  was  very  near  apostatizing ;  but  my  mother 
again  held  him  to  the  church.  She  argued  and  explained  ; 
she  wept  and  she  entreated,  until  he  said  no  more  about  it. 
But  though,  for  her  sake,  he  took  no  steps  towards  leaving 
the  church  and  renouncing  the  faith,  he  felt  daily  his  dis- 
gust and  distrust  increasing,  and  he  never  again  believed 
so  strongly  in  the  Mormon  religion,  and  ever  after  regarded 
Brigham  with  much  less  awe  and  respect  than  formerly. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


BRIGHAM'S    HAND-CART   SCHEME,    CONTINUED.  — FAIL- 
URE  OF   THE    "DIVINE   PLAN." 

Arrival  of  the  First  Train.  —  Fearful  Sufferings  of  the  Emigrants.  — 
Women  and  Girls  toiling  at  the  Carts.  —  The  Prophet's  "  Experi- 
ment."—  Burying  the  Dead.  —  Greater  Mortality  among  the  Men. — 
Arrival  of  Assistance. —  Hand-Cart  Songs. —  Scenes  in  the  Camp  of 
the  Emigrants.  —  How  every  Prophecy  of  the  Elders  was  Falsified.  — 
How  the  Tennant  Family  were  Shamelessly  Robbed.  —  One  of  the 
Vilest  Swindles  of  the  Prophet.  —  Mr.  Tennant's  Unhappy  Death.  — 
His  Wife  Views  the  "Splendid  Property "  Bought  from  Brigham. — 
Brigham  Cheats  her  out  of  her  Last  Dollar.  —  She  is  Reduced  to  Ab- 
ject Poverty.  —  The  Apostle  Taylor  Hastens  to  Zion.  —  Richards  and 
Spencer  are  made  Scapegoats.  —  Brigham  evades  all  Responsibility. — 
Utter  Failure  of  the  "  Divine  Plan." 


HE  first  Hand-Cart  Com- 
panies, which  had  left 
Iowa  City  early  in  the 
season,  arrived  in  the  Salt 
Lake  Valley  the  last  of 
September.  They  were 
very  much  fatigued,  and 
were  greatly  rejoiced  when 
their  journey  was  ended. 

The  entire  company  had 
waded  every  river  on  the 
route  to   Salt  Lake,  and, 
as    a     consequence,     the 
health     of    almost    every 
man  and  woman  was  com- 
pletely broken.     The  married  women  suffered  the  least,  as 
they  only  had  to  assist  their  husbands  in  pulling  the  hand- 


"SOME   MUST   PUSH,  AND    SOME   MUST   PULL,' 


214  THE    CAMP   OF    DEATH. 

carts.  The  young  girls  had  to  pull  theirs  unassisted,  and 
they  were  literally  worn  out  with  the  exertion.  The  chil- 
dren were  placed  on  the  carts  when  they  became  tired,  and 
so  added  weight  to  already  overburdened  wagons.  It  was 
wlien  the  second  of  these  companies  came  in  that  Brigham 
Young  was  heard  to  say,  as  he  rubbed  his  hands  and 
smiled  with  overflowing  complacency,  "This  experiment  is 
a  success." 

Alas  for  Brother  Brigham,  this  remark  was  overheard  by 
some  of  the  emigrants,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  their 
faith  in  "inspiration,"  and  "revelation,"  was  very  much 
weakened ;  and  the  subsequent  adventures  of  their  friends 
and  companions,  whose  arrival  had  been  delayed,  by  no 
means  tended  to  reassure  them,  or  restore  their  waning  be- 
lief. It  was  enough  to  be  the  victims  of  a  heartless  and 
mercenary  experiment ;  but  to  be  deluded  into  the  belief 
that  it  was  by  the  direct  revelation  of  the  will  of  the  Lord 
made  it  harder  to  bear,  and  there  was  much  bitterness  of 
spirit  expressed  when  the  people  who  had  endured  so  much, 
and  gloried  in  the  endurance,  because  in  so  doing  they 
were  obeying  the  commands  of  God,  learned  that  their  suf- 
ferings were  borne  merely  to  help  fill  the  purses  of  a  false 
prophet  and  his  corrupt  followers. 

When  the  relief  train  reached  Captain  Willie's  company, 
they  were  camped  on  the  Sweetwater,  near  the  Rocky 
Ridges.  They  had  eaten  their  last  provisions,  and  death 
was  staring  them  pitilessly  in  the  face.  The  camp  was 
filled  with  dead  and  dying.  There  was  no  help  for  the 
latter,  and  the  poor  souls  had  lost  all  desire  to  live.  They 
were  waiting,  with  almost  apathetic  indifference,  for  release, 
while  those  dearest  to  them  were  doubly  agonized  because 
they  must  see  the  loved  ones  perish,  and  they  were  helpless 
even  to  bring  comforts  to  them,  or  make  life  easier  while  it 
lasted.  Those  who  were  strong  enough,  dug  one  large 
grave  in  which  all  the  dead  were  laid  together.  It  was 
the  best  they  could  do ;  but  their  hands  were  no  less  tender 


THE    LAST,    LONG    SLEEP.  215 

and  loving,  their  hearts  no  less  sore,  than  if  the  last 
rites  had  been  as  imposing  as  those  of  royalty  itself.  The 
only  thing  they  could  do  to  prepare  their  dear  ones  for  the 
grave  was  to  close  the  eyes,  the  loving  eyes  that,  to  the 
very  last,  had  turned  longingly  Zion-ward ;  to  fold  the 
pulseless  hands  over  the  silent  hearts  that,  through  all  the 
hardships  and  toil,  had  kept  their  trust  firm  and  their  faith 
bright ;  to  straighten  out  the  tired  feet  that,  bleeding  and 


RELIEF  IN  SIGHT. 


sore,  had  yet  toiled  joyfully  along  the  rugged  path  that  led 
to  the  fair  Canaan  of  their  dreams ;  to  smooth  the  tangled 
hair  away  from  haggard  faces,  where  the  lines  of  care  lay 
heavily,  and  yet  through  which  the  light  of  peace  divine 
shone  serene  and  pure ;  to  arrange  as  decently  as  possi- 
ble the  tattered  garments,  which  were  their  only  clothing 
for  the  tomb,  and  to  lay  them,  coffinless,  in  their  cold  bed 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  their  last,  long  sleep ;  then  to 


2l6  STARVATION   BEATEN   AWAY. 

go  away  and  leave  them  there,  with  the  relentless  winter 
storms  beating  upon  them,  and  no  stone  to  mark  their  rest- 
ing-place. The  road  from  Winter-Quarters  to  Salt  Lake 
was  a  via  dolor osa  indeed. 

Thirteen  had  died  in  Willie's  camp  the  day  that  succor 
reached  them  ;  two  more  died  the  next  day ;  and  all  were 
buried  in  one  grave.  The  men  succumbed  to  death  before 
the  women.  The  cause,  no  doubt,  was  the  greater  weari- 
ness on  account  of  their  more  arduous  exertions,  and  their 
wonderful  self-denial  for  the  sake  of  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren. They  would  work  just  so  long  as  they  could,  then 
fall  dead  in  front  of  their  carts,  their  hands  still  holding 
them  tight  in  the  tenacious  grasp  of  death.  There  \vas  no 
time  for  mourning  or  delay.  Hurried  graves  were  dug, 
and  the  bodies  placed  therein,  hastily  covered,  —  then  the 
survivors  must  press  on  again. '  Wives  left  their  husbands, 
husbands  their  wives,  parents  their  children,  and  children 
their  parents,  under  the  frozen  earth  of  the  desert  and 
mountain  ridges. 

When  the  poor  Saints  knew  that  assistance  had  really 
reached  them,  that  starvation  was  beaten  away  and  death 
held  at  bay,  their  joy  knew  no  bounds.  They  cried  like 
children,  men  as  well  as  women,  and  burst  forth  into  prayer 
and  songs  of  praise.  They  attacked  the  food  like  famished 
animals,  and  ate  it  with  a  wolfish  greed.  The  scene  is  one 
that  can  never  be  adequately  described.  It  was  full  of  a 
terrible  pathos.  It  told  of  a  suffering  that  never  can  be 
comprehended  except  by  those  who  endured  it.  The 
clothing  and  bedding  were  then  divided  between  them,  and 
they  were  made  comfortable  as  they  could  be  under  the 
circumstances.  That  night,  for  the  first  time  for  many 
weeks,  the  sounds  of  rejoicing  were  heard  through  the 
camp.  They  were  not  forgotten  of  the  Lord,  nor  deserted 
by  his  people ;  and  again  they  found  heart  to  sing  their 
hand-cart  hymns  which  had  been  written  for  them  by  some 
enthusiastic  members  of  the  train. 


THE    HAND-CART    SONGS.  2 17 

Contrast  one  of  their  songs,  if  you  please,  with  the  situa- 
tion when  relief  from  Salt  Lake  reached  them :  — 

"  We're  going  to  Zion  with  our  carts, 
And  the  Spirit  of  God  within  our  hearts ; 
The  old,  decrepit,  feeble  dame 
Will  lend  a  hand  to  pull  the  same ; 

For  some  must  push  and  some  must  pull, 
As  we  go  marching  up  the  hill, 
Until  we  reach  the  Valley,  O  ! 

"  Our  maidens,  they  will  dance  and  sing, 
Our  young  men  happier  be  than  kings, 
Our  strength  increasing  every  day, 
As  we  go  travelling  up  the  way. 

Yes,  some  must  push  and  some  must  pull, 
As  we  go  marching  up  the  hill, 
Until  we  reach  the  Valley,  O  !  " 

Rough  in  phraseology,  and  rude  in  structure,  it  yet 
shows  the  spirit  which  animated  the  converts  when  they 
first  started  on  their  pilgrimage  to  the  promised  land. 
Another  favorite  song  had  a  stirring  chorus,  as  follows :  — 

"  Hurrah  for  the  camp  of  Israel ! 

Hurrah  for  the  Hand-Cart  scheme ! 
Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  'tis  better  far 
Than  the  wagon  and  ox-team." 

In  this  song  the  "  divine  plan  "  was  extolled  with  all  the 
enthusiastic  fervor  with  which  it  was  first  expounded  to 
them  by  the  elders  in  England.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
these  songs  were  written  in  the  first  glow  of  the  furor,  be- 
fore any  of  the  hardships  even  of  the  sea-voyage  had  been 
encountered.  They  were  not  sung  after  the  first  encounter 
with  a  mountain  storm ;  that  took  the  heart  out  of  them. 
Even  in  the  rejoicing  at  their  deliverance,  they  sang  only 
the  hymns,  making  no  attempt  even  to  revive  the  spirit  of 
the  hand-cart  songs. 


2l8  TERRIBLE    SUFFERINGS. 

After  seeing  Captain  Willie's  company  made  comforta- 
ble, the  relief  train  started  east  again  in  search  of  Captain 
Martin's  company.  This  they  found  in  camp  at  Grease 
Wood  Creek,  twenty  miles  from  Willie's  camp.  The  suf- 
fering in  this  company  was  quite  equal  to  that  of  the  com- 
pany just  relieved,  and  precisely  the  same  scenes  were  en- 
acted. They  were  wild  with  joy,  and  men  and  women  fell 
on  the  necks  of  their  deliverers  with  sobs  and  kisses,  call- 
ing them  their  saviours,  and  invoking  blessings  of  all  kinds 
on  their  heads. 

The  camp  was  filled  with  dead  and  dying,  and  many  had 
been  left  behind  that  day,  having  fallen  exhausted  in  the 
way.  The  storm  had  been  blinding,  and  their  companions 
could  not  stop  for  them ;  they  could  only  hasten  on  while 
daylight  lasted,  making  their  slow,  painful  progress  to- 
wards the  haven  of  their  rest.  My  father  and  his  com- 
rades spent  the  night  in  searching  for  those  that  were  left 
behind,  and  bringing  them  into  camp,  where  they  were 
tenderly  cared  for.  Many  of  them  died  very  soon  after 
being  brought  in ;  others  lived,  but  they  were  maimed  for 
life,  feet  and  hands,  in  many  cases,  having  been  literally 
frozen  off.  This  was  the  people,  "the  chosen  people  of 
God,  for  whose  benefit  the  Indians,  the  seasons,  nay,  the 
very  elements  themselves,  should  be  controlled."  Their 
belief  in  "  prophecy "  must  have  been  severely  tried  by 
this  shock. 

Everything  had  happened  to  them  to  make  their  journey 
hard.  Their  carts  had  broken  down  repeatedly,  as  my 
father  had  prophesied  they  would,  and  a  great  deal  of  de- 
lay had  been  caused  by  the  frequent  stopping  for  repairs  ; 
their  cattle  had  stampeded,  so  that  their  supply  of  milk  and 
fresh  beef  was  cut  off,  and  only  oxen  enough  left  to  allow 
one  yoke  to  a  team ;  some  of  the  men  who  dropped  behind 
the  others,  wearied  with  the  journey,  were  eaten  by  wolves  ; 
very  many  had  died,  and  others  were  hopelessly  crippled ; 
the  winter  had  set  in  earlier,  and  with  severer  storms  than 


EATEN    BY    THE    WOLVES. 

have  ever  been  known  in  all  the  Utah  experience.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  Lord  were  punishing  priest  and  people,  the  one  for 
the  audacious  assumption  of  power,  the  other  for  blind  belief 
in,  and  dependence  on,  earthly  promises,  even  when  pur- 
porting to  come  from  Him.  Blasphemous  presumption  and 
foolish  ignorance  were  alike  hateful  in  His  sight. 

Richards  had  promised  the  people  that  they  should  find 
supplies  at  Laramie,  but  he  was  unable  to  reach  there  with 
them,  and  on  their  arrival  the  Saints  found  only  a  message 
telling  them  that  the  supplies  would  be  at  South  Pass.  It 
was  with  heavy  hearts  that  they  went  on  their  toilsome  way, 
more  discouraged  than  ever  they  had  been  before.  The 
swift-falling  winter  storms  made  matters  worse,  and  it  is 
only  a  wonder  that  so  many  survived  as  did,  —  that  every 
one  did  not  perish  before  aid  could  reach  them. 

The  day  after  reaching  Martin's  camp,  the  party  from 
Salt  Lake  pushed  on  about  thirty  miles  farther  east,  walk- 
ing most  of  the  way,  through  a  blinding  snow,  to  meet 
Captain  Hunt's  wagon  train.  They  found  the  people  con- 
nected with  this  but  very  little  better  off  than  the  Hand-Cart 
companies ;  they  were  suffering  severely  from  the  intense 
cold,  and  many  had  their  limbs  frozen.  Captain  Hunt 
might  have  hastened  and  reached  Salt  Lake  City  earlier, 
but  he  had  been  expressly  forbidden  to  pass  the  hand-carts, 
which  shows  conclusively  enough  that  those  very  persons 
who  sent  the  emigrants  off  at  that  unfavorable  season  feared 
for  the  results.  This  was  the  last  company  that  was  to  be 
relieved,  and  so  my  father  and  his  companions  remained 
with  the  train  until  it  overtook  the  hand-carts  at  Devil's 
Gate. 

At  this  point  the  train  was  unloaded,  and  all  the  goods 
which  were  going  to  Salt  Lake  City,  that*could  actually  be 
spared,  were  left  there  for  the  winter,  and  the  wagons  were 
filled  with  the  sick  and  feeble  emigrants,  who  could  never 
have  reached  the  Valley  but  for  this  aid.  The  progress 
was  necessarily  slow,  but  the  people  were  so  much  more 


22O  ANOTHER  PROPHETIC  BLUNDER. 

comfortable  that  the  time  did  not  drag  so  heavily.  There 
were  very  few  deaths  after  the  mountains  were  well  crossed, 
and  a  milder  climate  reached,  and  those  who  were  ill  grew 
better,  although  the  majority  of  them  have  never  been  well 
since. 

At  Fort  Bridger,  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  Salt 
Lake  City,  the  emigrants  were  met  by  an  order  from  Brig- 
ham  Young  to  winter  there  and  .at  Fort  Supply.  A  gen- 
eral feeling  of  dismay  spread  over  the  camp,  in  spite  of  the 
joy  with  which  the  Saints  received  the  added  supplies  of 
food  and  clothing.  To  be  so  near  their  destination,  and 
yet  to  be  kept  from  it,  seemed  doubly  hard,  after  all  the 
sorrow  and  hardships  they  had  met  and  endured  on  their 
way.  It  did  indeed  seem  as  though  the  way  to  the  land  of 
promise  was  closed,  instead  of  being  opened  to  them.  Were 
they,  like  Moses  of  old,  to  die  in  sight  of  their  Canaan? 
Had  they  been  brought  all  this  way  only  to  perish  just  out- 
side the  walls  of  their  Zion? 

The  places  designated  by  Brigham  were  totally  unfit  to 
winter  in.  Should  the  poor  Saints,  in  their  feeble  and 
emaciated  condition,  attempt  it,  it  was  more  than  likely 
that  they  would  perish  before  spring.  Seeing  the  utter  im- 
practicability of  the  plan,  and  touched  by  the  distress  of 
the  poor  people,  who  were  again  to  be  made  the  victims 
of  a  prophetic  blunder,  two  or  three  of  the  relieving  party, 
among  them  my  father,  came  at  once  to  the  city,  travelling 
day  and  night,  to  have  arrangements  made  to  bring  them 
to  the  Valley. 

They  were  successful  in  their  mission,  and  an  express 
was  at  once  despatched  to  bring  the  waiting  Saints  home. 
When  at  length  they  arrived,  they  were  met  with  gladness, 
and  given  the  warmest  welcome.  The  people  in  Salt  Lake 
City  opened  their  houses  to  them,  and  took  them  gladly  in, 
giving  them  the  best  and  the  kindest  care.  Those  of 
the  Hand-Cart  companies,  who  had  come  in  first,  crowded 
round  them,  and  met  them  with  tears  of  rejoicing,  in  which 


MEETING    OF    HAND-CART    COMPANIES.  221 

sorrow  mingled.  It  was  then  that  they  began  to  realize 
their  loss.  As  one  after  another  of  their  old  companions 
came  up,  and  missing  some  familiar  face,  inquired  for  the 
friend  so  dearly  beloved,  always  the  same  sad  answer  came 
—  "  Died  on  the  Plains."  Sixty-seven  were  left  on  th^  way 
from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Valley,  which  was  about 
one  sixth  of  the  number  which  started. 

I  remember  distinctly  when  these  companies  came  in ; 
their  wretched  condition  impressed  me  at  the  time,  and 
I  have  seen  many  of  them  since,  poor  crippled  crea- 
tures, stumping  about  the  city,  trying  to  do  enough  work 


ARRIVAL  OF  "HAND-CART  COMPANIES"  AT  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 

to  keep  soul  and  body  together ;  more  than  that,  they  were 
not  able  to  do.  I  have  heard,  too,  from  some  of  them,  the 
most  harrowing  stories  of  their  journey,  that  terrible,  fatal 
journey,  which  was  one  of  the  very  worst  blunders  that  the 
Prince  of  Blunderers,  Brigham  Young,  ever  made. 

The  recollection  is  made  more  vivid  because  my  young- 
est brother,  Edward,  who  went  out  with  a  team  to  assist  the 
emigrants,  got  lost  in  the  snow,  and  for  a  week  we 
supposed  him  to  be  dead.  After  wandering  for  some  days 
in  the  mountains,  with  both  feet  badly  frozen,  he  was 
found  by  a  mountaineer  named  Battiste,  who  kept  him, 


222       THE    PROPHET  S    DISINTERESTED    GENEROSITY. 

and  cared  for  him  most  kindly,  until  the  arrival  of  my 
father,  who  had  heard,  while  with  the  train,  that  he  was 
missing,  and  had  gone  at  once  in  search  of  him.  It  was  a 
narrow  escape,  and  the  terrible  expedition  came  near  prov- 
ing a  tragedy  to  us  as  well  as  to  so  many  others. 

Among  the  emigrants  was  a  very  wealthy  gentleman  of 
the  name  of  Tennant.  He  and  his  wife  were  among  the 
early  converts,  and  were  very  earnest  Mormons.  They  had 
for  a  long  time  been  resolved  to  come  to  Zion,  and  when 
the  Hand-Cart  scheme  was  introduced  they  decided  to  join 
that  company.  Humble  followers  of  Christ,  they  thought 
they  could  in  no  better  way  show  their  love  for  Him  and 
their  devotion  to  their  religion,  than  by  such  an  act  of  self- 
sacrifice  as  this.  Possessed  of  ample  means  to  have  crossed 
the  ocean  and  travelled  in  the  most  comfortable  and  even 
luxurious  manner,  they  nevertheless  chose  to  go  in  this 
way,  with  the  poorest  of  the  Saints,  and  share  with  them  all 
the  hardships  and  dangers  which  should  attend  this  toil- 
some, perilous  journey. 

Mr.  Tennant  gave  liberally  to  the  emigration  fund,  in 
order  that  as  many  poor  Saints  as  possible  might  make  the 
long-anticipated  pilgrimage  to  Zion,  and  both  himself  and 
his  wife  provided  liberally  for  the  comfort  of  their  poor  fel- 
low-travellers. A  short  time  before  the  emigrant  company 
left  England,  the  Apostle  Richards,  in  one  of  his  eloquent 
dissertations  on  the  "plan  "  and  its  divine  origin,  said  that  in 
order  to  assist  the  poor  to  emigrate,  President  Young  had 
given  to  the  Emigration  Fund  Society  an  estate  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  to  be  sold  for  its  benefit.  He  dilated  largely  upon  the 
disinterested  generosity  of  the  Prophet,  and  his  desire  that 
as  many  as  possible  of  his  faithful  followers  should  be  gath- 
ered to  Zion  during  that  season.  Fired  by  this  act  of 
extreme  kindness  on  the  part  of  his  revered  leader  in  the 
church,  Mr.  Tennant  at  once  bought  the  property,  and  paid, 
it  is  said,  thirty  thousand  dollars  down  for  it.  There  is 
little  need,  perhaps,  of  saying  that  that  was  immensely  more 


SAD    DEATH   OF    MR.     TENNANT.  223 

than  its  real  value  ;  but  that  fact  its  purchaser  was  not  aware 
of,  as  it  was  glorified  by  all  the  apostolic  eloquence  be- 
stowed upon  it,  quite  beyond  recognition. 

On  the  voyage,  and  during  the  journey  across  the  States, 
and  the  tiresome  waiting  time  at  Iowa  City,  no  one  was 
more  beloved  than  Mr.  Tennant  and  his  gentle,  estimable 
wife.  Sharing  alike  with  the  poorer  Saints,  no  word  of 
complaint  ever  passed  their  lips.  They  never  for  a  moment 
seemed  to  regret  their  decision  to  emigrate  at  this  particular 
time,  but  accepted  every  fresh  hardship  as  a  trial  to  their 
faith,  sent  by  God  Himself  to  test  them,  and  prove  their 
worthiness  to  enter  His  glorious  kingdom  on  earth.  They 
moved  among  their  companions  with  kindly  faces  and  words 
of  cheer  and  comfort.  They  encouraged  endurance  by  their 
example,  and  made  the  forced  discomforts  of  some  of  the 
party  seem  easier  to  bear  by  their  voluntary  assumption  of 
them.  As  far  as  they  could  they  alleviated  the  distress 
which  prevailed,  and  were  always  ready  to  perform  any 
deeds  of  kindness. 

The  journey  with  the  hand-carts  was  doubly  hard  for 
them,  unused  as  they  were  to  exertion;  and  day  after  day 
the  wife  saw  the  husband  slowly  succumbing  to  fatigue  and 
disease,  and  she  powerless  to  assist  him.  But,  though  his 
strength  waned  and  his  health  failed  him,  yet  his  courage 
and  his  faith  remained  steadfast  and  fixed.  Whatever  came 
he  believed  would  surely  be  right,  and  though  he  struggled 
manfully  to  keep  up  until  he  should  reach  Zion,  yet  he  was 
overcome,  and  died  at  O'Fallon's  Bluffs,  literally  of  ex- 
haustion. His  last  thought  was  for  his  sorrowing  wife,  and 
his  last  word  was  of  comfort  and  consolation  to  her.  He 
had  one  thought  to  make  the  parting  easier  —  he  had  pro- 
vided a  home  for  her  in  Zion  ;  Brother  Brigham  held  it  in 
trust  for  her,  and  she  would  find  the  comforts  to  which  she 
was  used,  and  rest  and  peace  in  the  Valley  with  the  chosen 
people. 

The  bereaved  wife  clung  wildly  to  her  husband's  remains, 


224  A   VILE    SWINDLE    BY    BRIGHAM    YOUNG. 

with  the  most  heart-broken  lamentations.  To  have  him  die 
was  a  misery  in  itself;  but  to  see  the  slow,  cruel  torture 
which  he  underwent,  and  to  watch  him  slowly  dying  such  a 
horrible  death,  was  almost  unbearable.  For  a  time  it 
seemed  almost  as  though  she  must  be  left  there  with  him ; 
that  her  soul  would  follow  his.  Happier  would  it  have  been 
for  her  had  that  fate  been  hers.  The  cold  earth  and  pitiless 
winter  storms  would  not  be  so  cold  and  so  pitiless  as  the 
world  was  to  her,  after  this  loving  protecting  arm  was  taken 
from  her.  A  woman,  unused  to  toil  and  hardship,  nur- 
tured in  luxury,  reared  in  tenderness  and  love,  she  was  left 
alone  to  battle  single-handed  with  the  world.  And  such  a 
world !  whose  ruling  passion  was  avarice,  and  whose  de- 
light waS  another's  torture;  the  world  of  Mormon  Saint- 
hood —  ruled  over  by  a  grasping,  lecherous,  heartless  tyrant, 
who  laughed  at  a  woman's  sorrows  and  flouted  at  her 

o 

wrongs.  I  think  if  she  had  known  all  that  was  to  follow, 
she  would  have  lain  down  on  the  plain  by  the  side  of  her 
dead  husband,  and  endured  the  torture  of  a  horrible,  slow 
death,  rather  than  have  gone  on  to  the  years  of  suffering 
which  lay  before  her. 

It  is  fortunate,  indeed,  that  the  future  is  so  closely  veiled 
to  us ;  else  we  should  all  lose  heart  and  courage  in  this  un- 
equal struggle  called  life,  and  lay  down  our  weapons,  con- 
vinced that  it  is  of  no  use  to  struggle  longer.  Providence 
deals  wisely  with  us,  after  all,  and  we  are  forced  to  admit  it 
at  every  step  of  our  lives. 

The  hurried  funeral  rites  were  over,  and  the  man  who  had 
been  so  great  a  benefactor  to  the  people  among  whom  he 
had  cast  his  lot,  was  left  sleeping  his  last  sleep  in  a  strange 
land,  and  the  sorrowing  party  resumed  their  weary  way, 
saddened  by  this  affliction.  On  the  arrival  at  Salt  Lake 
Mrs.  Tennant  at  once  proceeded  to  look  after  her  property. 
The  "  magnificent  estate  "  for  which  her  husband  had  paid 
so  fabulous  a  price,  was  a  small  wooden  house,  inconvenient 


DISGRACED    FOR    LIFE.  225 

and  out  of  repair,  and  worth  not  a  tenth  part  of  what  had 
been  paid  for  it. 

She  was  shocked  and  troubled  at  what  seemed  such  a 
piece  of  swindling  on  the  part  of  the  President  and  the 
church  authorities,  although  at  first  she  was  inclined  to  ex- 
onerate Brigham  Young  and  blame  Apostle  Richards  for 
misrepresentation  ;  but  an  audience  with  Brigham  soon  con- 
vinced her  that  he  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  affair, 
and  she  felt  bitterly  enough  towards  the  man  who,  under  the 
guise  of  religious  benevolence,  would  be  guilty  of  such  a 
piece  of  trickery.  Even  this  poor  shelter  was  not  left  her 
very  long.  The  place,  and,  indeed,  most  of  the  valuable 
things  which  her  husband  had  sent  to  make  their  home  in 
Zion  more  comfortable,  were  taken  for  tithing  and  on  other 
pretences,  and  in  a  very  few  months  this  woman  was  com- 
pelled to  go  out  to  daily  labor  to  earn  her  bread,  her  rightful 
property  going  to  fill  the  already  overflowing  coffers  of  the 
"  Prophet  of  the  Lord."  Indeed,  the  entire  Hand-Cart  expe- 
dition was  a  good  speculation  for  the  President,  and  helped 
replenish  the  prophetic  pocket. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Young  did  repent  of  this  foolish 
step  of  his,  but  it  was  not  at  all  on  account  of  the  suffering 
and  misery  which  he  entailed  upon  so  many  innocent  per- 
sons, but  because  he  knew  that  an  act  of  that  kind,  becoming 
public,  would  make  him  and  his  religion  more  unpopular 
than  ever,  and  they  were  already  in  sufficiently  bad  odor 
with  the  outside  world.  He  could  ill  afford  to  make  such  a 
blunder.  It  would  also  work  against  his  influence  with  the 
Saints  themselves,  and  he  was  always  jealous  of  his  author- 
ity over  his  people. 

The  Apostle  John  Taylor  arrived  home  before  either 
Apostle  Richards  or  Elder  Spenser,  and  he,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  told  his  own  story,  throwing  all  the  blame  upon  his 
two  co-workers,  so  that  when  they  arrived  they  found  the  full 
torrent  of  the  Presidential  wrath  turned  against  them.  They 
were  sadly  hurt,  for,  in  their  zeal  to  carry  out  instructions 
15 


226  RICHARDS    RESTORED    TO    FAVOR. 

and  gain  the  approbation  of  their  leader,  they  had,  they 
affirmed,  all  through  the  affair,  acted  against  the  dictates 
of  humanity  and  their  own  consciences. 

He  was  loud  in  his  denunciations  of  them ;  he  cursed 
them  "  in  the  name  of  Israel's  God  ;  "  he  ridiculed  them  in 
public  until  they  were  compelled  to  hide  their  heads  in  very 
shame.  Their  sole  fault  was,  they  had  been  too  faithful  to 
him.  Spenser  never  recovered  from  the  disgrace  ;  he  always 
remained  a  broken-down,  helpless  man,  seeking  no  favor, 
expecting  none,  not  even  decent  treatment,  from  his  master, 
until,  after  lingering  for  ten  years  under  the  prophetic  ban, 
he  died  heart-broken.  Richards  has,  in  a  degree,  overcome 
the  President's  feeling  towards  him,  and  is  gaining  favor 
all  the  time,  but  he  will  never  stand  as  high  as  he  did  before 
this  most  unfortunate  exhibition.  The  people  will  never 
forget  his  share  in  it,  and  those  who  came  to  Zion,  influ- 
enced by  his  eloquent  appeals  and  encouraged  by  his 
prophecies,  associate  him  naturally  enough  with  that  unhap- 
py experience.  Then,  although  Brigham  Young  has  par- 
tially restored  him  to  favor  by  certain  acts  and  kindnesses 
granted  to  him,  yet  he  has  never  taken  back  any  of  the 
anathemas  which  he  showered  upon  him,  and  they  are  by 
no  means  forgotten  by  those  who  heard  them,  and  have  a 
certain  influence  even  now  in  forming  public  opinion. 

Notwithstanding  the  terrible  consequences  of  this  "  divine 
plan,"  its  originator  did  not  wish  to  acknowledge  that  he 
had  in  any  way  been  mistaken.  The  plan,  he  argued,  was 
all  right ;  it  only  went  wrong  through  mismanagement,  and 
he  would  prove  its  feasibility  to  the  satisfaction  of  every 
Saint  in  the  Territory.  The  plan  was  "divine,"  and  he 
would  "sanctify  it  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord." 

So  in  the  April  following  he  sent  a  company  of  elders  on 
a  mission,  compelling  them  to  go  with  hand-carts.  These 
were  properly  made,  of  good  material,  strongly  finished, 
with  iron  tires,  and  everything  to  make  them  durable.  They 
had  plenty  of  provisions ;  so  they  would  not  be  reduced  to 


A   MISERABLE    FAILURE.  227 

the  necessity  of  eating  their  own  shoes  nor  biting  their  own 
flesh  in  the  mad  frenzy  of  starvation,  as  many  a  poor  fellow 
did  in  the  expedition  whose  "  divinity  "  they  were  sent  out  to 
prove.  The  season  was  favorable,  and  there  was  no  danger 
of  their  being  overtaken  by  terrible  mountain  storms,  under- 
neath which  they  would  be  buried.  They  were  all  robust 
young  men,  too ;  better  fitted  to  endure  a  journey  like  the 
one  ordained  for  them  by  their  Prophet,  than  the  feeble  old 
men  and  women,  the  young  wives,  mothers,  and  maidens, 
and  the  tiny,  toddling  children,  who  formed  a  great  portion 
of  the  other  company.  Then  they  started  fresh,  not  wearied 
already  by  a  rough  sea-voyage,  a  journey  thousands  of 
miles  across  the  Continent,  to  the  final  starting-point,  nor 
reduced  by  hunger  and  exposure.  They  had  the  advan- 
tage in  everything,  and  yet,  although  their  expedition  was 
by  no  means  fatal,  it  was  very  far  from  being  a  "  success," 
such  as  Brigham  expected  it  to  be. 

On  his  way  to  Chicago  my  father  overtook  them  at  Devil's 
Gate.  He  found  them  completely  jaded  and  worn  out.  In 
truth,  they  were  almost  dead  from  weariness.  They  trav- 
elled slowly,  making  long  stops  to  rest,  and  finally  they 
reached  the  Missouri  River  in  a  perfect  state  of  exhaustion. 
They  left  their  carts  there  with  the  utmost  willingness, 
showing  wonderful  alacrity  at  abandoning  a  "divine" 
scheme.  To  this  day  they  all  aver  they  cannot  bear  to  hear 
the  word  w  Hand-cart "  mentioned.  It  was  the  last  time  the 
"  experiment "  was  tried,  and  after  this  but  little  was  said 
regarding  the  divine  origin  of  the  plan ;  and  it  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact  that  no  one  has  preserved  more  utter  silence  on 
the  subject  than  the  "  Revelator,"  Brigham  Young. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  MOUNTAIN   MEADOWS'  MASSACRE.  —  "  VENGEANCE 
IS   MINE:    I    WILL   REPAY." 

The  Results  of  the  Reformation.  —  The  Story  of  a  Fiendish  Deed.  — 
The  People's  Mouths  Closed.  —  How  the  Dreadful  Crime  was  Hushed 
Up.  —  Judge  Cradlebaugh's  Efforts  to  Unravel  the  Mystery.  —  Who 
weie  the  Guilty  Ones  ?—  The  Emigrants  on  the  Way  to  Utah.  —  The 
People  Forbidden  to  sell  them  Food.  —  They  Arrive  at  Salt  Lake  City. 

—  Ordered  to  Break  Camp.  —  In  need  of  Supplies.  —  Who  was  Ac- 
countable ?  —  Why  the  Mormons  hated  the  Emigrants.  —  The  Story  of 
Parley  P.  Pratt.  —  How  he  Seduced  McLean's  Wife.  —  Their  Journey 
to  Cedar  City.  —  Hungry  and  Weary,  but  still  Pressing  On.  —  They 
Reach  the  Mountain  Meadows.  —  Attacked  by  "the   Indians."  —  The 
Emigrants  Besieged.  —  Dying  of  Thirst.  —  Two  little  Girls  shot  by  the 
Mormons.  —  An  Appeal  for  Help.  —  The  Last  Hope  of  the  Besieged. 

—  Waiting  for  Death. 

F  all  the  numberless  atroci- 
ties that  succeeded  the  Utah 
Reformation,  and  were  the 
direct  outgrowth  of  the 
teaching  of  the  revolting 
doctrine  of  the  "Blood- 
Atonement,"  nothing  ap- 
proaches in  fiendish  bar- 
barity the  Massacre  at  the 
Mountain  Meadows,  where, 
on  the  i  yth  of  September, 
1857,  a  company  of  emi- 
grants from  Arkansas  and 
Missouri,  on  their  way  to 
California,  were  assassinat- 
ed in  the  most  cruel  and  treacherous  manner,  by  a  band  of 
disguised  Mormons  and  Indians,  under  the  leadership  of 
officers  of  the  Mormon  militia. 

Nearly  eighteen  years  have  passed,   and  until  within  a 


A  HORRIBLE  DEED  OF  BLOOD.  229 

comparatively  short  time,  little  has  been  definitely  known 
concerning  the  details  of  the  massacre,  either  by  the  Gen- 
tile world,  or  by  the  mass  of  the  Mormon  people,  who,  to 
give  them  the  justice  which  they  deserve,  would  have 
shrunk  with  horror  from  the  very  idea  that  the  commission 
of  the  terrible  deed  could  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  their  be- 
loved church. 

I  was  but  a  child  at  the  time,  but  I  recollect,  perfectly, 
hearing  that  an  emigrant-train  had  been  attacked  by  the 
Indians,  and  all  members  of  the  band,  writh  the  exception 
of  a  few  of  the  smaller  children,  killed ;  and  I  remember, 
also,  seeing  these  children,  who  were  said  to  have  been 
taken  from  their  Indian  captors  by  Mormon  officers,  and 
were  to  be  cared  for  by  the  Mormon  people.  I  suppose 
the  remembrance  is  the  more  vivid  because,  before  their 
arrival  in  Utah,  the  people  were  forbidden  by  Brigham 
Young  and  his  elders  to  sell  them  anything  during  their 
journey  through  the  Territory,  and  this  was  so  unusual  a 
command  that  it  was  a  matter  of  wondering  conjecture  to 
most  of  the  Mormons,  although  no  one  dreamed  of  ques- 
tioning the  justice  of  the  Prophet's  mandate. 

Young  as  I  was,  I  felt  the  mystery  that  shrouded  the  whole 
horrible  transaction,  and  I  knew  instinctively,  as  did  many 
others,  that  something  was  being  hidden  from  the  mass  of 
the  people,  by  their  leaders,  which  it  was  not  deemed  pru- 
dent to  reveal ;  but  the  terrible  truth  was  not  then  even 
suspected  by  the  faithful  Saints.  I  can  understand  now, 
as  I  could  not  then,  why  all  wonder  concerning  this  whole- 
sale murder  was  speedily  hushed  up ;  why  any  definite 
mention  of  it  was  avoided  by  the  leaders  in  the  church; 
why,  when  it  was  spoken  of  at  all,  it  was  with  cautious 
manner,  apprehensive  glances,  and  in  whispered  tones 
under  the  breath.  Priests  and  people  alike  hesitated  to 
approach  the  dreaded  subject,  and  there  was  an  almost  su- 
perhuman endeavor  on  the  part  of  the  church  authorities 
to  erase  all  remembrance  of  it  from  the  minds  of  their  fol- 


230 

lowers.  But  occurrences  of  this  kind  are  not  easily  for- 
gotten, and  the  memory  of  that  bloody  and  unprovoked 
butchery  is  still  fresh  in  other  minds  besides  my  own,  re- 
tained there  so  distinctly  that  neither  time  nor  eternity  can 
obliterate  it.  The  very  mystery  which  veiled  it  made  it 
more  awful  to  me,  an  imaginative,  excitable  child;  and 
though  I  followed  the  example  of  my  elders,  and  never 
spoke  of  the  subject,  even  to  my  mother,  it  haunted  me 
perpetually,  and  I  grew  absolutely  terrified  at  the  con- 
stantly recurring  fancies  which  I  drew  of  it. 

Although  the  people  were  so  quiet,  since  there  was  a 
tacit  understanding  that  they  must  be  so,  yet  their  eyes  nor 
ears  were  never  closed,  and  thought  was  by  no  means  idle. 
Indeed,  as  the  years  have  rolled  on,  what  was  at  first  a 
vague  suspicion,  which  it  seemed  a  sin  to  entertain,  has 
grown  to  a  horrible  certainty,  until  to-day  it  stands  forth, 
stripped  of  all  its  first  mystery,  fearfully  vivid  in  its  mon- 
strosity, the  foulest  of  all  the  foul  blots  upon  the  unclean 
page  of  Mormon  history.  It  was  a  deed  unparalleled  in  its 
atrocity ;  unapproachable  in  the  treachery  employed  by  its 
perpetrators  ;  more  horrible  in  its  sickening  details  than 
the  butcheries  by  the  most  barbarous  savages  ;  the  work 
of  fiends  rather  than  of  men ;  and  yet  so  successful  has 
been  the  "quiet"  policy  of  the  Mormon  leaders,  that  I  find 
the  extent  of  its  horrors  but  dimly  understood  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

Attempts  were  made  by  Judge  Cradlebaugh  to  discover 
the  perpetrators,  and,  above  all,  the  instigators  of  this  deed, 
and  bring  them  speedily  to  justice  ;  but  with  a  Mormon 
jury,  blinded  by  their  bigotry,  who  were  taught  from  the 
pulpit  that  allegiance  to  the  church  and  Brigham  Young 
was  paramount  to  all  their  duties  and  obligations  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  whose  citizens  they 
claimed  to  be,  that  perjury  to  that  government  would  be 
forgiven  by  the  priesthood,  indeed  was  counselled  by  it, 
and  that  no  Mormon  was  to  be  delivered  over  to  Gentile 


WHO    ORDERED    THE    MASSACRE?  23! 

justice,  no  matter  what  his  crime  might  have  been,  nor 
how  distinctly  it  was  proved,  it  followed  naturally  enough 
that  the  efforts,  earnest  and  untiring  as  they  were,  were 
utterly  fruitless. 

Judge  Cradlebaugh's  last  attempt  to  ferret  out  the  affair 
was  made  in  1859 ;  and  since  that  time  no  action  has  been 
taken  by  the  government  until  last  autumn,  when  the  long- 
smothered  suspicion  broke  forth  into  audible  accusations, 
and  in  this  new  burst  of  popular  demand  for  justice,  the 
supposed  leaders  were  arrested.  I  inadvertently  said  "  sup- 
posed "  leaders  ;  but  it  has  been  shown  beyond  the  possibility 
of  a  doubt  that  John  D.  Lee,  a  major  in  the  Mormon  mili- 
tia, and  one  of  the  most  active  and  zealous  of  Brigham 
Young's  devoted  adherents,  led  the  attack  in  person ;  that 
many  of  the  victims  fell  by  his  hand ;  and  that  he,  assisted 
by  Bishop  Haight  and  the  notorious  Dame,  acted  under 
instructions  from  "#  higher  authority"  The  plans  of 
massacre  were  fully  matured,  at  a  council  held  at  Parowan, 
by  Brigadier-General  George  A.  Smith,  first  counsellor  to 
Brigham,  and  a  fit  servant  for  such  a  master,  Colonel  Wil- 
liam C.  Dame,  Bishop  of  Fillmore,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Haight,  President  of  the  Cedar  City  "  Stake  of  Zion," 
Bishop  Higbee,  and  John  D.  Lee. 

Of  all  these  men,  Lee,  who  is  now  under  arrest,  has 
been  the  most  closely  identified  with  the  massacre,  in  the 
public  mind,  until  he  has  grown  to  be  an  object  of  popular 
aversion,  shunned  and  dreaded.  It  may  seem  childish, 
but  so  strong  a  hold  had  this  affair  taken  on  my  imagina- 
tion, that  I  have  never  been  able  to  shake  off  the  feeling 
of  terror  with  which  it  filled  me ;  and  when,  last  autumn,  I 
was  told  of  his  arrest,  and  knew  that  he  was  safe  inside 
prison  walls,  I  positively  experienced  a  feeling  of  relief 
and  personal  safety,  as  great  as  though  some  enemy  of  my 
own  had  been  rendered  powerless  to  harm  me.  I  had 
never  even  seen  the  man ;  but  knowing  the  record  of  his 
crimes,  and  always  hearing  of  him  in  connection  with 


232  THE    BEGINNING    OF    A    TERRIBLE    STORY. 

some  deed  of  bloody  brutality,  my  horror  and  fear  of  him 
never  diminished,  and  he  remained,  what  he  had  always 
been,  the  ogre  of  my  childish  fancies. 

It  is  a  horrible  story,  sickening  in  its  every  detail :  but  it 
cannot  be  told  too  often,  until  it  shall  be  known  all  over  the 
country  by  every  person  who  is  ignorant  of  it  now. 

It  was  early  in  September,  1857,  when  it  was  first  an- 
nounced in  Salt  Lake  City  that  a  large  emigrant  party  from 
Missouri  and  Arkansas  had  entered  the  Valley  on  their  way 
to  California.  As  soon  as  the  announcement  was  made,  a 
command  was  issued  by  the  President  of  the  church,  that 
nothing  was  to  be  sold  to  any  member  of  this  party,  on  the 
pain  of  death.  The  command  was  most  arbitrary,  and  was 
totally  without  precedent,  showing  beyond  a  doubt  the  ani- 
mus of  Brigham  Young  towards  this  party,  and  rendering 
it  much  easier  to  believe  that  the  terrible  tragedy  which  fol- 
lowed was  approved,  if  not  instigated,  by  him. 

Salt  Lake  had  been  for  a  long  time  the  depot  for  obtain- 
ing fresh  supplies  prior  to  crossing  the  deserts  which  sepa- 
rated Utah  and  California.  Every  emigrant  train  which  had 
crossed  the  plains  for  some  years,  had  made  this  a  resting- 
place,  and  taken  a  fresh  start  from  here  for  the  remainder 
of  the  tedious  journey.  Much  money  was  left  in  this  way 
in  the  Mormon  country,  and,  as  usual,  Brigham  Young  got 
his,  the  "lion's  share,"  of  all  the  profits. 

This  train,  like  all  that  had  gone  before  it,  had  laid  their 
•plans  to  supply  themselves  for  their  journey  at  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  had  only  brought  a  sufficient  quantity  of  provis- 
ions to  last  them  until  they  reached  that  point.  Greatly  to 
their  surprise,  they  found  themselves  unable  to  purchase 
anything,  and,  in  addition,  were  peremptorily  ordered  to 
break  their  camp  at  Salt  Lake  and  move  on.  All  through 
the  country  of  the  Saints  they  were  met  with  sturdy  refusals 
to  sell  them  anything.  Men  who  would  gladly  have  placed 
a  quantity  of  provisions  at  their  disposal  dared  not  do  it, 
fearing  to  disobey  their  Prophet's  mandate.  In  vain  the 


WHY    WAS    BRIGHAM    YOUNG    SILENT?  233 

emigrants  offered  them  money,  wagons,  personal  property 
of  all  kinds.  Brigham's  law  was  not  to  be  broken,  and  the 
person  who  should  venture  to  disregard  it  pronounced  his 
own  death  sentence.  Now  and  then,  however,  one  more 
humane  or  more  daring  than  the  rest,  came  to  the  camp 
at  night  with  a  small  amount  of  provisions  —  all  they  could 
bring  without  danger  of  detection ;  but  what  was  this  little 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  hungry  men  and  women,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  little  children  who  were  to  be  fed?  It  might 
have  met  a  present  want,  but  it  did  nothing  towards  pro- 
viding for  future  needs.  Starvation  was  staring  them  in  the 
face  while  they  were  journeying  in  the  midst  of  plenty, — for 
it  is  a  notorious  fact  that  the  harvests  never  were  more 
plentiful  in  Utah  than  they  were  that  year. 

Whatever  may  have  been  Brigham  Young's  connection 
with  the  massacre  itself, — whether  it  was  done  at  his  insti- 
gation or  merely  with  his  connivance,  —  he  was,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes,  the  murderer  of  these  people,  and 
should  be  held  responsible  for  their  lives.  What  right  had 
he,  the  governor  of  the  Territory  of  Utah,  appointed  to  office 
by  the  United  States  Government,  amenable  to  its  laws  as  a 
citizen,  much  more  so  as  an  office-holder,  bound  by  an  oath 
of  loyalty  to  protect  every  person  within  the  limits  of  his 
territory,  to  refuse  food  to  peaceful,  law-abiding  citizens  of 
the  same  government,  knowing,  as  he  did,  that  here  was 
their  only  opportunity  to  obtain  it,  and  that  certain  death 
was  their  fate  if  compelled  to  cross  the  desert  with  the  scanty 
rations  which  remained  to  them  ? 

The  treatment  of  these  people  from  the  moment  of  enter- 
ing Brigham  Young's  dominions  until  the  final  tragedy,  was 
so  barbarous,  and  attended  with  so  many  horrors,  that  the 
Mormon  people,  contrary  to  their  usual  custom,  feel  obliged 
to  offer  some  excuse  in  extenuation.  But  all  the  reasons 
which  they  give,  when  combined,  are  entirely  insufficient  to 
justify  the  deed.  Yet,  such  as  they  are,  they  shall  be 
given. 


234  LONGING    FOR   THE    SPOIL    OF    THE    SLAIN. 

The  "Reformation"  was  over,  and  the  doctrine  of  the 
"Blood-Atonement"  was  still  in  full  force.  Young  and  his 
confederates  were  infuriated  because  United  States  troops 
were  ordered  to  Utah.  They  considered  this  act  of  the  gov- 
ernment an  open  insult,  and  they  revenged  it  on  the  first  Gen- 
tiles whom  they  could  reach.  The  train  was  one  of  the 
largest  and  richest  that  had  ever  crossed  the  plains.  The 
value  of  their  wagons,  horses,  and  stock  alone  was  said  to 
be  $300,000,  and  the  women  of  the  party  had  rich,  full 
wardrobes  and  elegant,  costly  jewelry.  Brigham,  as  you 
have  seen,  ignores  the  tenth  commandment,  and  the  sixth 
is  a  dead-letter  to  him ;  to  covet  his  neighbors'  goods  is  to 
possess  them  in  some  way  or  other,  either  honestly  or  other- 
wise,— generally  otherwise. 

A  part  of  the  emigrants  were  from  Missouri,  and  the 
Mormon  people  will  never  regard  the  Missourians  in  any 
other  light  than  that  of  the  bitterest  enemies.  They  had 
never,  in  all  the  years,  forgotten  the  persecution  which  they 
received  at  their  hands,  and  Joseph  Smith's  death  they  con- 
sidered unavenged.  It  was  reported  that  in  the  train  was 
a  man  who  had  openly  boasted  of  having  been  present  at 
the  assassination  of  Smith,  and  that  he  as  openly  threatened 
to  take  the  life  of  the  present  prophet.  This  story  is  gener- 
ally believed  to  be  utterly  without  foundation,  circulated  by 
the  Mormon  leaders  to  stir  up  the  wrath  of  the  people 
against  the  emigrants,  and  to  exonerate  themselves,  if  their 
share  in  the  slaughter  of  these  people  should  ever  become 
known.  The  Arkansas  members  of  the  train,  also,  were 
objects  of  Mormon  vengeance.  Parley  P.  Pratt,  one  of 
the  twelve  apostles,  and  also  one  of  the  brightest  intellect- 
ual lights  in  the  Church  of  the  Latter-Day  Saints,  was 
sent  on  a  mission  to  California,  where  he  proselyted  with 
such  vigor  that  many  converts  were  made  ;  among  them  a 
Mrs.  Eleanor  McLean,  wife  of  one  Hector  McLean,  and 
the  mother  of  three  children,  who  was  induced  to  embrace 
Mormonism  and  polygamy  as  embodied  in  the  person  of  the 


APOSTLE    PRATT    SEDUCES    MRS.    McLEAX.  235 

seductive  apostle.  The  command  to  "leave  all  and  follow 
me  "  was  readily  obeyed,  especially  as  she  was  personally 
to  add  to  the  missionary's 
present  pleasure  and  future 
glory,  by  becoming  one  of  his 
numerous  plural  wives. 

As  there  was  no  authority 
to  marry  them  in  a  "  legal " 
manner  in  this  Gentile  state, 
they  were  obliged  to  defer 
that  ceremony  until  their  ar- 
rival in  "  Zion."  But  in  cases 
like  this,  which  were  often 
occurring  to  the  missionary 

0     .     ,        .,  .  j  ,         .,  PARLEY  P.  PRATT. 

oamts,  it  was  considered  quite 

proper  for  the  pair,  who  were  in  haste  to  wed,  to  "  covenant 
together,"  and  thereafter  to  be  regarded  as  man  and  wife, 
without  ministerial  or  judicial  aid,  until  such  time  as  they 
could  celebrate  their  nuptials  in  the  presence  of  saintly 
witnesses,  and  after  the  true  saintly  fashion.  This  cov- 
enant the  Apostle  Pratt  and  Mrs.  McLean  were  not  slow 
to  make. 

The  news  soon  reached  the  husband  that  his  wife  was 
going  to  Utah  with  the  Mormon  Elder,  and  intended  taking 
the  children  with  her.  This  last  design  McLean  frus- 
trated by  sending  them  to  some  relatives  in  one  of  the 
Southern  States.  He  then  informed  his  wife  that  she  was 
at  liberty  to  go  where  she  chose,  but  that  she  must  go  alone, 
as  he  had  placed  the  children  beyond  her  reach. 

She  came  to  Utah,  and  immediately  on  her  arrival  was 
sealed  to  Parley,  after  having  lived  under  a  covenant  with 
him  for  months.  The  mother-heart,  however,  yearned 
for  her  children  ;  neither  her  new  religion  nor  the  fractional 
part  of  an  apostle  could  fill  the  void  left  by  the  separation 
from  them,  and  she  determined  to  gain  possession  of  them 
and  bring  them  also  to  Utah.  After  much  entreating,  she 


236  THE    ADULTERESS    STEALS    HER    CHILDREN. 

succeeded  in  inducing  her  new  husband  to  go  to  the  States 
with  her  for  the  purpose  of  finding  them.  She  went  alone 
to  the  place  where  her  children  were  at  school,  leaving 
Pratt  in  Arkansas,  —  which,  by  the  way,  was  her  husband's 
home.  On  reaching  the  town  where  her  children  were, 
she  was  obliged  to  assume  a  disguise,  as  McLean  was 
there,  having  followed  his  children  from  California.  She 
used  every  stratagem  to  obtain  them,  but  only  succeeded  in 
cany  ing  away  one.  She  quickly  made  her  way  with  him 
to  Arkansas,  and  joined  Parley,  who  was  awaiting  her  there. 
Together  they  started  to  return  to  Utah,  but  were  overtaken 
by  McLean,  who,  maddened  by  the  breaking  up  of  his 
home,  the  seduction  of  his  wife,  and  the  abduction  of  his 
child,  determined  to  wreak  summary  vengeance  on  the  man 
who,  under  the  guise  of  religion,  and  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  whom  he  constantly  blasphemed  by  taking  His  holy 
name  upon  his  polluted  lips,  had  wrecked  his  whole  life's 
happiness. 

Being  examined  before  a  magistrate,  Mrs.  McLean  Pratt 
assumed  all  the  responsibility  of  the  abduction  of  the  chil- 
dren, and  the  Apostle  was  honorably  discharged.  His 
friends,  however,  apprehended  danger,  and  advised  him  to 
escape,  if  he  could,  for  McLean  was  a  violent  man.  They 
also  offered  him  a  couple  of  revolvers  for  his  defence. 

The  Apostle  fled,  but  McLean  was  on  his  trail.  At 
length  the  wronged  husband  came  within  sight  of  his  ene- 
my, and  pursued  him  like  the  avenger  of  blood.  Pratt 
left  the  public  road,  endeavoring  to  reach  a  house  not  far 
distant;  but  McLean  was  too  swift  for  him.  Following 
him  closely,  with  revolver  drawn,  he  fired  at  the  saintly 
seducer,  but  failed  to  touch  him.  Furious  at  Pratt's  escape, 
McLean  urged  forward  his  horse,  and,  as  he  passed  his 
enemy,  made  a  lunge  with  his  bowie-knife,  and  gave  him  a 
fatal  thrust  in  his  side.  The  wounded  man  fell  from  his 
horse  instantly,  and  McLean  fired  again  at  the  guilty 
wretch  as  he  lay  bleeding  on  the  ground,  and  the  ball  pen- 
etrated his  breast. 


DEATH  OF  THE  ADULTERER,  P.  P.  PRATT. 


237 


The  bloody  deed  performed,  McLean  returned  to  Fort 
Smith,  walked  through  the  town  with  his  friends,  and  in 
the  evening  took  the  passing  steamer  for  the  South.  He 
took  his  child  and  left  the  mother  to  return  to  Utah,  now 


ASSASSINATION  OF  PARLEY  P.  PRATT. 

doubly  widowed  and  childless.  The  people  of  Arkansas 
upheld  McLean,  and  it  was  considered  that  he  had  only 
done  his  duty  in  ridding  the  world  of  such  a  wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing. 

But  the  Mormons  were  deeply  infuriated  ;  they  held  every 
Arkansas  man  personally  responsible  for  the  murder  of 
their  Apostle,  whom  they  at  once  canonized  as  saint,  and 
worshipped  as  martyr,  and  whose  name,  to  this  day,  is 
spoken  with  reverence  by  them ;  and  the  fact  that  any  of 
these  emigrants  were  from  that  state,  gave  them,  as  they 
thought,  an  opportunity  of  revenging  Pratt's  death,  at  the 
same  time  that  they  avenged  the  murder  of  their  Prophet. 
Many  of  them,  too,  were  from  the  immediate  neighborhood 
where  McLean  resided,  and  where  Pratt  was  killed ;  and 
at  least  one  of  the  number  was  said  to  have  been  interested 
in  his  assassination.  The  fact  that  Pratt  had  brought  his 
death  upon  himself  was  not  taken  into  consideration.  They 


238  "  MOUNTAIN    MEADOW    DOGS  "    ON    THE    TRAIL. 

found  no  palliation  for  McLean's  action  in  his  wrecked 
home  and  blighted  life  ;  though  no  persons  in  the  world  are 
so  quick  to  resent  any,  even  fancied,  interference  with  their 
families  as  the  Mormons.  Yet  this  is  saintly  consistency. 

At  the  Parowan  council,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  the 
mode  of  action  was  fully  determined  upon,  and  the  plan  of 
attack  matured  to  the  minutest  detail.  Meeting  with  the 
most  inhospitable  treatment,  and  unable  to  obtain  provis- 
ions, the  emigrants  were  fairly  driven  from  camp  to  camp, 
until  they  reached  Cedar  City.  They  camped  here  only 
one  day ;  but  during  their  stay  they  were  allowed  to  pur- 
chase fifty  bushels  of  tithing  wheat  and  have  it  ground  at 
John  D.  Lee's  mill.  But  this  was  an  insufficient  quantity, 
and  would  be  exhausted  several  days  before  they  could 
reach  the  nearest  point  in  California  where  food  was  obtain- 
able, even  if  they  travelled  with  the  utmost  speed,  and  put 
themselves  on  the  shortest  possible  rations. 

From  Cedar  City  they  proceeded  south-west  less  than 
forty  miles,  and  camped  at  the  Mountain  Meadows,  which 
they  reached  after  a  five  days'  journey,  so  exhausted 
were  they.  It  was  a  most  cheerless  and  dreary  spot, 
and  so  hemmed  in  that  if  attacked  they  would  be  com- 
pletely at  the  mercy  of  their  assailants.  The  Meadows  are 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  long  and  a  mile  wide,  and  are  shut 
in  on  every  side  by  mountains  ;  but  at  the  lower  end  they 
converge  and  form  a  canon.  Cane  Spring  is  situated  just 
at  the  mouth  of  this  canon,  and  about  thirty  rods  above  this 
spring,  a  mound,  two  hundred  feet  long  and  one  hundred 
feet  wide,  shuts  out  all  view.  In  the  midst  of  this  gray  des- 
olation of  nature,  the  emigrants  settled  themselves  down 
for  a  few  days'  rest  and  final  preparation  before  they  re- 
sumed their  perilous  journey. 

Beyond  the  annoyance  they  had  experienced  by  the 
withholding  of  provisions,  and  their  enforced  march  from 
camp  to  camp  throughout  the  Mormon  territory,  they  appre- 
hended no  ill-treatment  from  the  Saints.  I  do  not  think  the 


TOHN    D.   LEE,  BISHOP   IN    THE    MORMON    CHURCH,   AND    LEADER   IN 

THE  MOUNTAIN  MEADOWS  MASSACRE 

Has  nineteen  wives  and  sixty  four  children. 


THE    EMIGRANTS    ATTACKED    BY    MORMON    FIENDS.       239 

fear  of  personal  danger  had  entered  their  minds  at  all,  and 
they  were  resting  quietly  at  the  Meadows,  when,  on  the 
morning  of  the  loth  of  September,  while  the  women  of  the 
party  were  engaged  in  preparing  breakfast,  and  the  men 
in  caring  for  their  stock,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by 
the  Indians.  Seven  were  killed  and  fifteen  wounded  at 
the  first  fire. 

As  unexpected  as  the  attack  was,  they  did  not  lose  for 
one  instant  their  coolness  and  presence  of  mind.  Had  they 
done  so,  the  massacre  would  have  been  general,  and  the 
entire  party  killed  on  the  spot.  But  with  a  promptness 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any  border  warfare,  these  em- 
igrants wheeled  their  wagons  into  an  oblong  corral,  and 
with  almost  lightning-like  rapidity  threw  up  the  earth  from 
the  centre  of  the  corral  against  the  wagon  wheels,  making 
an  excellent  and  almost  impenetrable  barricade. 

It  had  been  decided  at  the  Parowan  Council  to  make  the 
attack  at  Santa  Clara  Canon,  at  the  point  where  it  is  crossed 
by  the  California  road,  and  where  the  perpendicular  walls, 
which  it  was  impossible  to  scale,  and  the  blockade  of  their 
own  wagons,  would  preclude  the  possibility  of  the  escape 
of  a  single  soul.  But  the  Indian  allies,  "The  Battle  Axes 
of  the  Lord,"  became  impatient,  and  precipitated  the  attack. 
The  liberal  promises  made  to  them  by  John  D.  Lee,  the 
Indian-Agent,  of  blankets,  clothing,  rifles,  ammunition,  and 
trinkets,  excited  their  cupidity ;  and  so  eager  were  they  to 
obtain  the  promised  spoils,  that  they  could  not  wait  to  carry 
out  the  original  plan. 

As  soon  as  the  barricade  was  finished,  the  first  fire  of  the 
Indians  was  returned,  and  three  of  the  assailants  were 
wounded.  They  had  crept  very  close  to  the  train,  not 
dreaming  a  repulse  possible,  and  lay  concealed  in  the  brush 
along  the  side  of  the  creek.  Two  of  the  Indians  died,  not- 
withstanding they  were  taken  to  Cedar  City,  where  their 
wounds  were  anointed  with  consecrated  oil  by  Bishop 
Higbee.  For  once,  at  least,  the  w  laying  on  "  of  "  saintly  " 


240  LEE    INCITES    THE    INDIANS    TO    MURDER. 

hands  was  not  efficacious,  and  the  mortal  wounds  refused  to 
be  healed  in  spite  of  persistent  priestly  prayers. 

The  leaders  of  the  Mormon  militia,  at  Cedar  City,  were 
thrown  into  a  state  of  excitement  by  the  arrival  of  an  Indian 
runner,  bringing  news  of  the  unsuccessful  assault,  and  they 
at  once  commenced  collecting  their  forces  to  go  to  the 
Meadows  to  the  assistance  of  their  allies.  It  is  said  that 
Haight  told  a  man  that  orders  had  come  from  headquarters 
to  slay  every  person  in  the  train.  The  Cedar  City  forces 
being  considered  inadequate,  Lee  sent  to  Washington  for 
re-enforcements.  When  the  troops  were  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  Meadows,  they  were  told  that  the  entire  com- 
pany was  to  be  killed,  with  the  exception  of  the  children 
who  were  too  young  to  remember. 

The  Mormons  were  disguised  as  Indians,  and  so  success- 
fully that  the  unfortuate  besieged  had  no  idea  that  their  be- 
siegers were  white  men.  The  very  knowledge  of  this  would 
have  disheartened  them  more  than  all  the  perils  of  their 
situation  had  power  to  do,  when  they  supposed  they  had 
only  a  savage  foe  to  meet,  whom  they  hoped  speedily  to 
repulse.  Safely  intrenched  behind  their  barricade,  they 
suffered  only  for  lack  of  water.  The  spring  was  only  about 
forty  rods  distant,  and  yet  they  dared  not  venture  to  go 
to  it,  and  the  water  was  as  unattainable  as  though  it  had 
been  miles  away.  Every  attempt  to  obtain  a  supply  was 
frustrated  by  the  reports  of  cruel  guns,  hidden  behind 
mounds  of  earth.  The  whole  rim  of  the  basin  formed  by  the 
circling  hills  was  a  masked  battery  sending  forth  destruc- 
tion every  time  a  form  was  seen  inside  the  barricade.  At 
first  it  was  supposed  only  the  men  were  in  danger,  and  a 
woman  of  the  party  stepped  outside  the  corral  to  milk  a  cow. 
She  fell  pierced  with  bullets.  At  length,  their  thirst  be- 
coming intolerable,  they  decided  to  send  two  of  the  little 
girls  to  the  spring  for  water.  Surely,  they  reasoned,  they 
will  be  let  to  go  unharmed;  their  youth  and  innocence  will 
be  their  safeguard ;  the  most  barbarous  savage  would  cer- 
tainly be  touched,  and  the  hand  of  destruction  stayed. 


TWO    LITTLE    GIRLS    MURDERED    BY    MORMON    DEVILS.       24! 

It  might  have  been,  had  it  been  savages  with  whom  they 
were  contending ;  but  no  feeling  of  pity  for  even  the  chil- 
dren could  enter  the  hearts  of  these  "  civilized  "  white  men 
who  were  engaged  in  the  " religious"  warfare,  and  shot 
down  their  innocent  victims  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Hand  in  hand  the  little  ones  advanced  towards  the  spring, 
dressed  in  white,  —  fit  robes  for  such  lambs  of  sacrifice. 
Suddenly  came  the  crack  of  scores  of  rifles,  and  the  tiny 


T«B  MURDER  OF  Two  LITTLE  GIRLS. 

bodies  fell,  fairly  riddled  with  bullets,  in  the  very  sight  of 
the  frantic  parents.  It  was  deeds  of  this  kind  which,  ac- 
cording to  John  D.  Lee,  "glorified  the  name  of  Israel's 
God." 

Then  the  emigrants  knew  they  could  not  expect  mercy ; 

but  their  courage  did  not  fail  them.     If  aid  could  only  reach 

them!     If  there  was  any  way  in  which  they  could  make 

their  situation  known  1     They  might  hold  out  a  few  days, 

16 


242  NO    MERCY    TO    BE    SHOWN  ! 

though  starvation  and  the  slow,  keen  torture  of  unallayed 
thirst  stared  them  in  the  face.  After  four  days  of  siege, 
they  drew  up  a  prayer  for  aid,  telling  how  they  had  been 
attacked  by  the  Indians,  and  how  they  were  then  surrounded  ; 
it  contained  a  list  of  the  emigrants'  names,  their  age,  place 
of  birth,  and  residence  at  the  time  of  the  emigration.  The 
number  of  clergymen,  physicians,  and  other  professional 
men  were  given ;  also  the  number  of  Freemasons  and  Odd- 
fellows, with  the  rank  of  each  and  the  name  of  the  lodge  to 
which  they  belonged.  The  letter  was  addressed  to  any 
friend  of  humanity ;  and  it  was  a  heart-rending  cry  of  dis- 
tress from  souls  in  mortal  straits.  Such  a  cry  as  that  could 
not  go  unheeded  ;  it  must  be  answered  by  speedy  relief.  It 
was  the  only  expression  of  despair  that  ever  came  from  the 
brave  hearts  in  the  corral ;  but  it  told  of  torture  beyond  de- 
scription ;  of  suffering  that  exceeds  imagination. 

But  how  should  it  find  its  way  outside  the  barricade? 
How  could  the  world  be  made  to  hear  this  agonized  appeal  ? 
No  sooner  was  the  petition  finished  than  three  men  —  all 
honor  to  their  bravery  !  —  volunteered  to  break  through  the 
camp,  dash  past  their  enemy,  and  cross  the  desert  to  Cali- 
fornia. They  more  than  suspected  by  this  time  that  a  por- 
tion of  their  assailants  were  white  men,  and  they  knew  they 
were  in  more  danger  from  them  than  from  the  Indians.  It 
is  said  that,  before  these  men  started  on  their  perilous  and 
almost  hopeless  undertaking,  the  entire  party  knelt  down, 
and  an  old,  white-haired  Methodist  pastor  prayed  for 
their  safety.  They  left  the  corral  in  the  night  under  cover 
of  the  darkness,  and  passed  their  besiegers  in  safety.  But 
in  some  way  their  flight  was  discovered,  the  Indian  run- 
ners were  placed  on  their  track,  and  they  were  mercilessly 
murdered.  The  first  one  was  killed  while  lying  asleep 
from  exhaustion,  by  an  Indian  named  Jackson,  who  has 
since  boasted  of  the  deed,  and  who,  in  years  after,  led  a 
person  to  the  spot  where  he  committed  the  murder ;  the 
body  had  been  burned,  but  the  charred  remains  of  the  skull 
and  larger  bones  marked  the  spot. 


FIEND-LIKE    DEEDS    OF   CERTAIN   MORMON   WRETCHES.    £43 

The  appeal  was  found  near  the  dead  body  of  the  man  by 
Jackson,  who  gave  it  to  a  Mormon  gentleman ;  he  kept  it 
for  some  time  without  allowing  any  one  to  know  that  it  was 
in  his  possession ;  but  one  day  he  showed  it  to  one  of  the 
men  who  was  nearly  concerned  in  the  massacre,  and  he 
deliberately  tore  it  in  pieces  on  the  spot.  Its  first  possessor 
has  no  sympathy  with  the  deed,  and  expresses  himself 
ready  to  come  forward  at  any  time  and  testify  to  the  con- 
tents of  the  letter,  of  which  he  is  perfectly  well  aware.  In 
speaking  of  it  to  a  gentleman  connected  with  the  western 
press,  he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "  I  believe  that  if  the 
Masons  and  Oddfellows  knew  how  many  of  their  brethren 
were  in  the  train,  they  wouldn't  let  the  accursed  murderers 
go  unpunished."  It  must  be  that  in  some  manner  they 
will  be  punished. 

"  The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slowly," 

to  be  sure,  but  they  grind  with  exactness,  and  retribution  is 
certain  to  follow  crime  sooner  or  later. 

The  other  two  men  were  overtaken  at  Virgin  Hills, 
stripped  of  their  clothing,  and  told  to  run  for  their  lives ;  a 
shower  of  arrows  was  sent  after  them,  wounding  them 
severely ;  one  could  scarcely  crawl,  and  his  captors  soon 
overtook  him,  and,  binding  him  to  a  stake,  piled  fagots 
about  him  and  set  fire  to  them,  and  exulted  with  fiendish 
glee  over  the  death-agonies  of  their  victim. 

The  last  one  made  his  way  to  the  camp  of  the  Vagas 
Indians,  who,  pitying  his  condition,  gave  him  clothing  and 
food.  He  then  tried  to  make  his  way  to  California,  but  was 
met  by  Ira  Hatch  and  his  band  of  Mormons  and  Indians, 
and  was  put  to  death  by  slow  torture. 

In  the  mean  time  the  condition  of  the  besieged  grew  worse. 
Day  by  day  passed,  and  their  sufferings  constantly  in- 
creased ;  still  they  kept  courageous  hearts,  and  looked  for 
the  help  that  must  come.  Their  food  was  nearly  gone,  their 
increasing  thirst  was  rendered  more  unendurable,  because 


244  WITHOUT   HOPE  ! 

just  beyond  they  could  hear  the  ripple  of  the  water,  as  the 
little  brook  danced  on  in  merry  mockery  of  their  sufferings. 
And  yet  not  a  murmur  of  complaint  was  heard ;  men  and 
women  looked  calmly  into  each  other's  eyes,  and  parched  lips 
spoke  words  of  cheer  and  hope,  to  which,  alas !  the  heavy 
hearts  did  not  respond.  On  one  thing  they  were  determined ; 
they  would  die,  but  they  would  never  surrender.  Their 
wives  and  children  should  never  be  given  over  to  such  mercy 
as  they  would  meet  at  the  hands  of  their  brutal  enemies. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 
BETRAYED   AND   MURDERED.  — TRIAL   OF  JOHN   D.  LEE. 

The  "White  Flag  of  Peace."  —  Friends  in  the  Distance.  —  A  Cruel 
Deception. —  Mormon  Fiends  plan  their  Destruction.  —  John  D.  Lee's 
Crocodile  Tears.  —  "  Lay  down  your  Arms,  and  Depart  in  Peace."  —  A 
Horrible  Suspicion.  —  The  Massacre.  —  The  Scene  of  Blood.  —  No 
Mercy  for  Women  and  Children. —  Robbed  and  Outraged.  —  Mur- 
dered by  Lee's  Own  Hand.  —  The  Field  of  Slaughter.  —  Dividing  the 
Property  of  the  Murdered  Ones.  —  Taken  to  the  Tithing-House. — 
Haunted  by  Spectres.  —  John  D.  Lee's  Trial. —  Instigated  by  Brigham. 
—  No  Justice  in  Utah.  —  Lee's  Confession  made  to  Shield  the  False 
Prophet.  —  Eight  Mormon  and  Four  Gentile  Jurors.  —  What  was  to  be 
Expected. 


morning  of  the  i7th  of 
September  dawned.  The 
hearts  of  all  the  doomed 
party  were  sick  with  de- 
ferred hope.  Suddenly  a 
cry  of  relief  broke  from 
the  corral.  A  wagon, 
filled  with  white  men, 
bearing  a  white  flag,  was 
seen  coming  down  the 
Meadows.  Succor  was  at 
hand.  Their  terrible  tor- 
tures  were  over.  Strong 
men  wept  like  children  at 
the  thought  that  their  be- 
loved ones,  for  whom  they 

had  agonized  through  all  those  dreary  days  and  nights  of 

siege,  were  safe  at  last. 

The  deliverers  were  none  other  than  John  D.  Lee  and 

the   officers   of  the   Mormon   militia.      Immediately  upon 


MURDERED  BY  LEE'S  OWN  HAND. 


246  CRUELLY   BETRAYED. 

their  appearance  the  "Indians"  ceased  firing,  and,  in  their 
fancied  security,  the  besieged  emigrants  rushed  outside  the 
corral  to  meet  their  rescuers.  How  their  hearts  warmed 
towards  Brigham  Young  and  the  Mormon  people.  All  the 
wrongs  they  had  suffered  at  their  hands  dwindled  into 
insignificance  before  this  last  crowning  act  of  humanity. 
Into  the  sympathizing  ears  of  their  saviors  they  poured  the 
terrible  story  of  their  sufferings.  Lee  is  said  to  have  wept 
while  listening  to  the  recital,  and,  at  the  end,  assured  them 
of  his  deep  sympathy,  and  promised  all  the  relief  in  his 
power. 

How  much  he  would  be  able  to  do  for  them  he  was  una- 
ble to  say  until  he  had  consulted  with  the  Indians,  and  he 
went  back,  and  pretended  to  hold  a  consultation.  The 
people  were  sure  he  could  save  them,  since  he  was  Indian 
agent,  and  must  necessarily  have  much  influence  over  them, 
and  their  joy  was  unspeakable.  He  soon  returned  with  the 
welcome  news  that  they  were  free,  but  on  condition  that 
they  would  lay  aside  their  arms.  There  was  no  thought 
of  treachery  in  their  hearts,  and,  without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion, they  complied  with  the  strange  conditions.  They  laid 
aside  their  trusty  rifles,  that  had  stood  them  in  such  good 
stead  during  all  the  days  of  the  siege ;  they  gave  up  re- 
volvers and  bowie-knives,  faithful  companions  on  their 
dreary  journey,  and  came  forth  from  their  intrenchments 
unarmed,  and  as  defenceless  as  the  children  themselves. 

As  they  issued  from  the.  corral  a  guard  of  soldiers  was 
drawn  up  to  escort  them  to  a  place  of  safety.  The  men 
were  separated  from  the  women  and  children,  and  were 
placed  in  front,  while  the  latter  were  in  the  rear.  It  seems 
almost  strange  that  no  suspicion  of  their  deliverers  entered 
their  minds  at  this.  But  why  should  even  curiosity  be 
aroused?  The  white  flag  was  waving  over  their  heads, 
and  they  were  under  the  protection  of  United  States  militia. 
Where  that  flag  waved,  they  were  safe  and  free. 

Notwithstanding   their   exhaustion,   and   their  weakness 


FIENDISH    BRUTALITIES. 


247 


from  hunger,  they  marched  joyously  along,  exulting  in 
their  regained  freedom,  when  suddenly  the  troops  halted, 
and  the  fatal  order  to  fire  was  given  by  Lee,  and  repeated 
down  the  line  by  all  the  under  officers.  In  an  instant  it 
flashed  across  the  helpless  victims  how  cruelly  they  had 
been  betrayed,  and,  with  shrieks  of  the  wildest  agony, 
they  fell  bleeding  to  the  earth.  Young  and  old  shared  the 
same  fate.  Gray-haired  men  and  .  beardless  boys  were 
alike  cut  down.  The  Indians,  who  were  ambushed  near 
by,  joined  the  Mormons  in  the  work  of  slaughter,  until  not 
one  of  all  the  men  was  left. 

And  what  of  the  helpless  women  and  children?     All  the 
womanhood  within  revolts  at  the  thought  of  their  horrible 


MURDERING  THE  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN. 

fate,  and  my  woman's  soul  cries  out  in  agony  at  the  recital 
of  the  sufferings  of  these  helpless  ones.  Some  of  them 
were  killed  by  their  husbands,  fathers,  or  brothers,  — 
happy  souls,  who  thus  escaped  the  most  cruel  torture. 
Death  was  nothing,  compared  to  the  fiendish  brutalities 
which  they  suffered  before  they  were  allowed  to  die. 
Some  of  the  women  were  too  ill  to  walk.  They  were 
taken  outside  the  corral,  driven  up  to  the  scene  of  the  mas- 
sacre, stripped  of  their  clothing,  shot,  and  their  mutilated 
bodies  thrown  down  in  a  pile,  with  the  rest. 


248  MURDERED   BY   LEE*S    OWN    HAND. 

To  the  honor  of  many  of  the  men  be  it  said,  —  the 
younger  ones,  especially,  —  they  refused  to  join  in  this  hor- 
rible work,  and  some  of  them  made  efforts  to  protect  these 
helpless  women  from  their  fiend-like  tormentors.  I  used 
often,  while  living  in  Payson,  to  see  a  man  named  Jim 
Pearce,  whose  face  was  deeply  scarred  by  a  bullet  wound, 
made  by  his  own  father,  while  the  brave  young  fellow  was 
trying  to  assist  a  poor  girl,  who  had  appealed  to  him  for 
succor.  Another  girl  threw  herself  on  her  knees  before 
Lee's  son,  and  clinging  to  him,  begged  for  mercy.  His 
heart  was  touched,  and  he  promised  to  spare  her,  but  his 
father  shot  her  while  she  knelt.  Lee  also  shot  another  girl, 
who  had  drawn  a  dagger  to  defend  herself  from  him. 

Even  the  children  were  not  spared.  They  shared  the 
horrible  fate  of  their  parents.  In  vain  they  begged  for 
mercy.  The  bloodthirsty  brutes  to  whom  they  knelt  had 
no  feeling  of  pity  or  compassion.  They  laughed  at  their 
entreaties,  and  mocked  their  terrified  cries.  Their  little 
throats  were  cut,  and  their  bodies  thrown  carelessly  in  a 
heap.  Only  seventeen  of  those  supposed  to  be  too  young 
to  remember  any  of  the  occurrences  of  this  fearful  day 
were  saved;  and  of  these  seventeen,  two  were  disposed  of 
after  reaching  Salt  Lake  City,  for  making  some  remarks 
concerning  the  massacre,  which  showed  an  intelligence 
beyond  their  years.  It  is  said — on  how  good  authority  I 
do  not  know  —  that  Daniel  H.  Wells,  mayor  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  one  of  the  First  Presidency,  Second  Counsellor  to 
Brigham,  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  killed 
one  of  these  babes  with  his  own  official  hand.  As  I  said 
before,  I  cannot  vouch  for  the  authenticity  of  this  rumor, 
but  those  who  know  the  man  best  are  the  most  ready  to 
believe  it.  He  is  certainly  capable  of  an  act  like  this. 

The  whole  affair  lasted  but  about  half  an  hour,  when  the 
assassins  rode  away,  carrying  all  the  clothing  and  baggage 
of  the  emigrants,  leaving  the  bodies  to  the  wolves  and 
ravens.  But  they  were  past  hurt  now,  and  wolves'  fangs 


ONE    HUNDRED    AND    THIRTY-THREE    VICTIMS.  249 

or  ravens'  beaks  were  powerless  to  harm,  although  they 
might  lacerate  the  already  mutilated  bodies  until  they 
should  be  past  all  recognition.  A  person  who  visited  the 
field  of  slaughter  eight  days  after  the  massacre  gave  the 
following  account  of  it.  He  said  men,  women,  and  children 
were  strewn  over  the  ground,  or  were  thrown  into  piles. 
Some  were  shot,  others  stabbed,  and  others  had  their 
throats  cut.  They  were  entirely  stripped  of  clothing,  and 
their  bodies  were  mutilated  by  the  wolves.  There  were 


SCENE  AFTER  THE  MASSACRE. 

one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  bodies  in  all.  These,  with 
the  three  men  who  were  killed  while  undertaking  to  bring 
assistance,  another  who  was  shot  outside  the  corral,  but 
whose  body  could  never  be  found,  and  the  two  children 
who  were  murdered  at  Salt  Lake  City,  made  one  hundred 
and  thirty-three  victims  of  this  fearful  and  unparalleled 
assassination. 

The  spoils  were  carried  to  Cedar  City,  and  placed  in  the 
tithing-office  there,  after  the  Indians  had  received  their 
share.  It  is  told  by  a  man,  who  then  was  a  mere  boy,  that 


250       SELLING  THE  EMIGRANTS*  PROPERTY. 

the  night  that  the  spoils  were  brought  into  town  he  and 
two  companions  slept  in  the  tithing-office.  The  cellars 
were  rilled  with  everything  that  had  been  taken  from  the 
emigrants,  and  the  bloody  garments,  stripped  from  the  dead 
bodies,  were  thrown  down  on  the  floor.  One  of  the  men 
connected  with  the  massacre  came  in,  and  threw  himself 
down  to  sleep,  without  perceiving  the  boys.  Scarcely  had 
the  place  become  quiet  with  the  peculiar,  painful  silence 
which  night  brings,  when  suddenly  the  room  they  were  in, 
and  the  cellar  beneath  it,  where  all  the  plunder  was  stored, 
resounded  with  cries,  groans,  sobs,  and  the  most  piercing, 
agonized  shrieks.  The  guilty  man  jumped  from  his  couch 
and  fled  out  into  the  night,  locking  the  doors  after  him.  In 
vain  the  terrified  boys  tried  to  force  the  lock.  It  remained 
fast  and  firm,  and  still  the  wails  and  cries  pierced  the  air. 
They  were  almost  dead  with  terror,  and,  clambering  up  to 
the  roof,  managed  to  escape  from  the  haunted  spot.  Noth- 
ing can  induce  this  man  to  believe  that  his  imagination 
played  him  a  trick.  "I  know,"  he  says,  "that  the  spirits 
of  these  foully-murdered  men  and  women  were  in  the 
tithing-house  that  night."  It  is  not  the  first  time,  by  any 
means,  nor  the  last,  that  a  Mormon  public  building  has 
been  haunted. 

The  property  of  the  emigrants  was  sold  at  public  auc- 
tion, in  Cedar  City,  by  Bishop  John  M.  Higbee,  and'  they 
were  readily  bought  by  the  eager  saints.  To  this  day, 
jewelry  is  worn  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  teams  are  seen  in 
the  streets,  that  are  known  to  have  belonged  to  the  fatal 
emigrant  train.  A  lady  in  Salt  Lake  City  was  one  day 
showing  a  silk  dress  and  some  jewelry  to  some  friends,  in 
the  presence  of  one  of  the  children  who  had  been  saved 
from  the  massacre.  The  little  one,  on  catching  sight  of 
the  dress,  burst  out  into  a  frantic  fit  of  weeping,  and  be- 
tween the  sobs  cried  out,  "  O,  my  dear  mamma  !  That  is 
her  dress;  she  used  to  wear  it.  Where  is  my  mamma? 
Why  doesn't  she  come  for  me?  "  It  is  said  that  other  chil- 


TRYING    TO    CONCEAL   THE    CRIME.  251 

dren  identified  clothing  and  trinkets  which  they  had  seen 
worn  by  members  of  the  party.  Indeed,  these  children 
remember  more  than  their  captors  fancy ;  else  they  would 
not  have  been  allowed  to  have  left  the  Territory,  as  many 
of  them  have  done,  having  for  the  most  part  been  returned 
to  their  friends  in  the  States. 

My  valued  friend  and  travelling  companion,  Mrs.  Cooke, 
had  two  of  them  under  her  charge  for  some  time,  and  she 
has  told  me  that  they  recognized  John  D.  Lee,  and  one  of 
them  said  one  day,  very  quietly,  but  very  determinedly, 
"  When  I  get  to  be  a  man  I  will  go  to  the  President  and 
ask  him  for  a  regiment  of  soldiers,  and  I  will  bring  them 
here  to  kill  the  men  who  murdered  my  father  and  mother 
and  brother,  but  I  will  kill  Lee  myself.  I  saw  him  shoot 
my  sister,  and  I  shall  not  die  happy  unless  I  kill  him."  Mrs. 
Cooke  says  they  used  often,  in  their  childish  prattle,  to  tell 
events  of  the  massacre,  which  showed  that  they  knew  per- 
fectly what  part  Lee  and  his  confederates  had  in  the  affair. 

On  their  return  from  the  scene  of  the  massacre,  the  lead- 
ers determined  to  conceal  the  crime,  but  although  they 
kept  quiet  a  year,  after  that  they  were  unable  to  refrain 
from  speaking.  Lee  himself  was  the  first  to  disclose  the 
fate  of  the  party.  Like  the  Ancient  Mariner,  he  went  up 
and  down  compelling  every  person  whom  he  met  to  listen 
to  his  story  of  an  emigrant  train  that  had  been  murdered 
by  the  Indians.  By  and  by  it  was  faintly  rumored  that  the 
Indians  were  not  alone  in  their  work  of  destruction,  but 
that  they  were  assisted  by  the  white  men.  Then  the  ru- 
mors grew  louder,  and  some  of  the  participants,  overcome 
with  remorse,  confessed  their  complicity  in  the  crime. 

A  short  time  since  a  man  died  in  Sevier  Valley,  who  was 
at  the  Mountain  Meadows.  He  always  imagined  that  he 
was  followed  by  spectres,  and  he  grew  haggard  and  worn 
from  constant  terror.  "  Brigham  Young,"  he  used  to  say, 
"  will  answer  for  the  murder  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
innocent  souls  sent  to  their  graves  at  his  command."  On 


252 

his  death-bed  he  besought  those  watching  by  him  to  pro- 
tect  him  from  the  spirits  that  were  hovering  near  him, 
waiting  to  avenge  themselves,  and  he  died  in  the  fearful 
ravings  of  a  horrible  terror.  Another  man,  much  younger 
than  the  one  referred  to  above,  was  also  literally  haunted 
to  death.  "Would  to  God,"  he  would  cry  in  the  bitterest 
agony,  "that  I  could  roll  back  the  scroll  of  time,  and  wipe 
from  it  the  damning  record ;  the  terrible  scenes  at  Moun- 
tain Meadows  haunt  me  night  and  day.  I  cannot  drive 
them  away."  He  has  been  known  to  drive  out  for  a  load 
of  hay,  and  return  quickly  in  terror,  leaving  his  team  in 
the  field.  Fie  used  to  say  that  the  cold,  calm  faces  of  the 
dead  women  and  children  were  never  out  of  his  sight. 

And  what  of  the  mangled  bodies,  and  "the  cold,  calm 
faces  "  that  were  left  upturned  to  the  September  sky?  They 
were  the  prey  of  wolves  and  vultures  ;  but  the  bones  were 
collected  by  an  old  Mormon,  who  had  no  sympathy  with 
the  deed  of  blood,  and  buried  in  the  hollow  they  had  dug 
inside  the  corral.  It  was  a  literal  labor  of  love.  Alone 
he  performed  the  last  act  of  kindness,  a  task  which  was 
disagreeable  enough,  and  one  that  of  necessity  was  done 
hurriedly.  The  wild  beasts  again  dug  up  the  bones,  and 
they  were  strewn  all  over  the  plain ;  there  they  remained 
until  1858,  when  the  government  sent  General  Carlton  to 
bury  the  bones  decently.  A  large  cairn  of  stones  was 
built  by  the  soldiers  to  mark  the  resting-place  of  the  re- 
mains, and  General  Carlton  erected  a  cross  of  red  cedar, 
on  which  was  inscribed  the  words,  "Vengeance  is  mine,  I 
will  repay,  saith  the  Lord."  At  the  other  end  of  the  mound 
was  a  stone,  with  the  inscription,  "Here,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  women,  and  children  were  massacred  in  cold 
blood,  early  in  September,  1857.  They  were  from  Arkan- 
sas." The  cross  was  destroyed  by  the  order  of  Brigham 
Young,  after  a  visit  to  the  spot.  It  was  the  first  promise 
of  payment  that  he  ever  rejected ;  and  this,  in  spite  of  his 
destruction  of  it,  will  yet  be  forced  upon  him. 


THE    TRIAL    OF  JOHN   D.    LEE.  253 

The  trial  of  Lee,  which  has  taken  place  since  the  fore- 
going narrative  was  written,  shows  more  clearly  than  any- 
thing I  can  say,  the  ascendency  which  Brigham  Young  has 
over  this  people,  and  the  utter  futility  of  expecting  any- 
thing like  justice  in  a  court  where  this  man's  followers  are 
allowed  to  sit  on  a  jury. 

Of  what  value,  think  you,  do  they  regard  any  oaths 
which  they  may  take  to  serve  with  fairness,  and  to  be  un- 
biassed, except  by  such  testimony  as  may  be  offered  in 
court?  If  they  are  good  Mormons,  they  have  received 
their  Endowments ;  and  the  oaths  which  they  took  when 
they  went  through  with  that  rite,  are  a  thousand  times  more 
binding  than  those  that  they  take  in  court,  which  they  re- 
gard as  a  mere  form,  without  meaning,  and  which  they 
are  not  only  allowed  by  the  church  to  violate,  but  which 
they  are  bound  to  break,  unless  the  cause  of  the  church 
can  be  furthered  by  keeping  them,  in  which  case  nothing 
can  exceed  their  loyalty. 

Unsuccessful  as  the  trial  was,  it  yet  has  been  productive 
of  one  good  result.  It  has  forced  the  details  of  this  fiendish 
massacre  upon  the  attention  of  the  entire  community.  There 
is  no  journal  in  the  country,  no  matter  how  small  or  unob- 
trusive, which  has  not  had  brief  but  concise  reports  of 
the  trial,  and  which  has  not  expressed  decided  opinions 
upon  the  result. 

A  greater  farce  was  never  played  before  a  larger  or 
more  disgusted  audience  than  this  which  has  just  ended  in 
Utah.  It  is  a  sarcasm  upon  justice,  a  gross,  hideous  bur- 
lesque from  beginning  to  end.  I  have  seen  surprise  ex- 
pressed at  the  termination  in  some  of  the  eastern  journals. 
That  shows  how  little  they  understand  the  autocratic  man- 
ner in  which  the  Territory  is  ruled  by  Brigham  Young, 
and  how  impossible  it  is,  under  existing  laws,  to  bring  to 
justice  any  of  his  followers.  I  could  have  prophesied  what 
the  ending  would  be  from  the  moment  in  which  the  jurors 
were  drawn.  Eight  Mormons  and  four  Gentiles, — what 
could  it  be  but  "disagreement?" 


254  EIGHT    MORMONS   AND    FOUR    GENTILES. 

As  earnest  as  the  prosecution  was,  and  as  determined  to 
sift  the  matter  to  the  very  bottom,  and  get  at  the  real  truth 
of  the  case,  without  regard  to  whoever  might  be  implicated, 
it  was  balked  in  every  endeavor,  not  to  prove  the  guilt  of 
the  prisoner,  and  others  higher  in  authority  than  he,  but  to 
influence  the  jury  to  act  according  to  the  evidence.  In  the 
face  of  the  most  conclusive  evidence,  which  the  defence 
were  utterly  powerless  to  refute,  and  indeed  did  not  even 
attempt  to  move,  the  Mormon  jurors  voted  solid  for  acquit- 
tal, and,  to  his  endless  shame  be  it  recorded,  induced  one 
Gentile  to  vote  with  them.  The  other  three  stood  firm, 
and  would  neither  be  coaxed  nor  bribed.  They  saw  the 
right,  and  refused  to  desert  it.  Their  companion,  as  many 
another  has  done,  sold  his  principle  for  Mormon  favor. 
He  was  in  love  with  a  Mormon  girl,  and  hoped,  by  pan- 
dering to  the  Mormon  leader's  desires,  to  obtain  her.  It 
will  be  but  a  step  further  into  the  Mormon  Church,  and 
when  he  has  taken  that  step,  and  gone  through  the  Endow- 
ment House,  he  will  be  in  the  place  where  he  properly  be- 
longs, and  no  doubt  will  make  a  willing  tool  for  the  priest- 
hood to  use. 

The  trial  strengthened  the  accounts  which  have  already 
been  given  of  the  massacre ;  and,  in  fact,  established  the 
truth  of  the  whole  horrible  affair,  in  its  most  brutal  detail, 
and  so  fully  that  the  defence  did  not  attempt  to  overthrow 
the  proof,  but  spent  its  time  in  assailing  the  witnesses,  and 
trying  to  prove  that  the  emigrants  poisoned  an  ox,  and 
then  attempted  to  sell  it  to  the  Indians,  who  found  out  the 
treachery,  and  massacred  the  party,  while  Lee  and  others 
wept  and  wrung  their  hands,  and  prayed  that  the  lives 
might  not  be  sacrificed. 

The  prosecution  proved  that  Brigham  Young  gave  orders 
regarding  the  disposal  of  the  property  of  the  murdered 
party,  and  ordered  the  men  who  brought  him  the  news  to 
say  nothing  about  the  matter  even  to  each  other.  Abso- 
lute silence  was  imposed  upon  them,  and  the  ones  who  gave 


MAKING    LEE    THE    SCAPE-GOAT.  255 

them  the  orders,  themselves  followed  the  "counsel"  which 
they  gave.  The  defence  failed  utterly  to  prove  that  Brig- 
ham  was  ignorant  of  the  affair,  and  even  his  deposition, 
from  its  very  weakness,  inconsistency,  and  contradictory 
statements,  strengthens  the  prosecution,  and  establishes 
more  firmly  in  the  popular  mind  the  belief  in  his  complicity 
in  the  matter,  and  his  approval  at  least,  if  not  his  actual 
instigation. 

There  was  a  feeling  throughout  the  trial  that  Brigham 
Young  and  the  Mormon  Church  were  arraigned  in  the  per- 
son of  John  D.  Lee,  and  the  defence  exhibited  their  under- 
standing of  the  case,  by  endeavoring  to  clear  the  authori- 
ties, and  paying  very  little  heed  to  the  real  defendant  in 
the  case,  rather  allowing  the  odium  to  rest  on  him  than  to  fall 
where  it  more  properly  belonged.  For  although  Lee  merits 
well  the  title  which  he  bears,  that  of  "Butcher  Lee,"  there 
is  no  doubt  that  he  was  acting  under  orders  from  head- 
quarters, and  that  his  blind  and  unquestioning  obedience 
was  the  effect  of  religious  fanaticism. 

It  was  expected  that  his  confession  would  reveal  beyond 
a  doubt  the  truth  of  the  whole  matter,  and  place  the  blame 
where  it  had  belonged.  It  was  well  known,  that  since  his 
cavalier  treatment  by  the  church,  he  had  been  impatient 
of  the  odium  which  he  had  borne  for  so  long  a  time,  and 
had  threatened  openly  to  "  shift  the  responsibility  from  his 
own  shoulders,  and  place  it  on  those  whose  business  it  was 
to  bear  it."  His  wives  and  children,  hating  the  disgrace, 
and  questioning  the  President's  right  to  make  a  scape-goat 
of  their  husband  and  father,  urged  him  to  make  a  full  con- 
fession, and  take  only  what  of  blame  belonged  to  him. 
The  document  was  prepared,  and  was  about  to  be  made 
public,  when  consternation  seized  upon  his  counsel.  They 
labored  with  him,  and  brought  such  influence  to  bear  upon 
him,  that  the  unsafe  paper  was  destroyed,  and  another  sub- 
stituted in  its  place,  in  which  Lee  merely  gave  the  details 
of  the  massacre,  but  failed  to  implicate  any  of  the  higher 
ecclesiasts. 


256  NO   JUSTICE    IN    UTAH. 

The  trial  had  been  appointed  for  the  I2th  of  July,  in  the 
Second  District  Court,  held  at  Beaver,  Southern  Utah, 
before  Judge  Jacob  S.  Boreman,  who  had  been  trying  for 
some  time,  ever  since  the  passage  of  an  act  of  Congress, 
the  23d  of  June,  1874,  which  presented  clashing  between 
Federal  and  Territorial  officers,  to  have  some  action  taken 
toward  punishing  those  persons  who  were  shown  to  have 
been  engaged  in  this  Mountain  Meadows  assassination. 

Judge  Boreman's  attempt  to  bring  the  Mountain  Mead- 
ows' assassins  to  justice,  the  first  that  had  been  made  since 
the  failure  of  Judge  Cradlebaugh's  essay  to  find  indictments 
against  any  of  the  persons  connected  with  the  massacre, 
resulted  in  finding  a  joint  indictment  against  William  H. 
Dame,  John  D.  Lee,  Isaac  C.  Haight,  John  M.  Higbee, 
Philip  Klingensmith,  William  C.  Stewart,  Samuel  Jukes, 
George  Adair,  Jr.,  and  some  others,  for  conspiracy  and 
murder.  Warrants  for  their  apprehension  were  issued, 
but  after  a  long  search  only  two  were  apprehended  —  Lee 
and  Dame. 

Then  came  another  long  delay.  It  was  almost  impossi- 
ble to  obtain  witnesses  to  testify.  This  was  the  same 
trouble  which  had  sixteen  years  before  beset  Judge  Cradle- 
baugh ;  and  District  Attorney  Carey,  who  prosecuted  the 
case  for  the  people,  was  almost  discouraged  lest  he  too 
should  fail  to  sustain  his  case.  "  Hold  your  tongues  "  has 
been  so  long  a  vital  lesson,  that  the  Mormon  people  find  it 
difficult  work  to  wag  them.  Over  one  hundred  subpoenas 
were  issued,  but  it  was  impossible  to  collect  the  witnesses. 
Some  of  the  least  important  obeyed  the  summons,  but  those 
who  knew  the  most  about  the  affair,  and  whose  testimony 
would  be  of  the  most  vital  interest  and  service,  failed  to  put 
in  an  appearance.  Among  these,  and  the  witness  above 
all  others  on  whom  the  prosecution  relied,  was  Philip  Klin- 
gensmith, formerly  a  bishop  in  Cedar  City,  a  participant  in 
the  massacre,  who  wished  to  ease  his  conscience  by  a  full 
confession.  He  had  been  known  to  talk  very  freely  to  out- 


AN    IMPORTANT    WITNESS.  257 

siders  on  the  subject,  and  it  was  he  who  was  driven  in  such 
terror  from  the  Cedar  City  tithing-house  the  night  after  the 
spoils  had  been  brought  thither.  Another  participant, 
named  Joel  White,  was  also  among  the  missing,  but,  for- 
tunately for  the  prosecution,  both  were  finally  found,  and 
brought  to  Beaver. 

The  first  week  was  devoted  to  legal  skirmishing,  and  the 
preparation  of  Lee's  confession.  The  counsel  had  agreed 
that  he  should  confess  fully.  It  was  known  that  the  men 
who  appeared  as  actors  on  this  field  of  carnage  were,  but 
instruments  in  the  hands  of  their  authorities  who  had 
planned  this  deed,  and  the  object  of  the  prosecution  was  to 
obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  instigators  of  this  "deed  of 
deathless  shame." 

Failing  in  this,  and  feeling  assured  that  Lee  was  not  act- 
ing in  good  faith,  they  refused  to  receive  the  statement. 
His  own  counsel,  Wells  Spicer,  Judge  Hoge,  and  W.  W. 
Bishop,  were  anxious  to  save  their  client,  no  matter  what 
other  guilty  parties  might  suffer.  They  were  true  to  his 
interests,  and  had  they  been  acting  by  themselves,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  the  confession  would  have  been  complete, 
and  would  have  implicated  the  whole  of  the  First  Presi- 
dency. But  fearing  this,  the  church  attorneys,  Sutherland 
and  Bates,  obtruded  their  services  upon  the  defence,  solici- 
tous to  shield  this  precious  trio,  Brigham  Young,  George 
A.  Smith,  and  Daniel  H.  Wells,  no  matter  at  whose  ex- 
pense. They  worked  upon  Lee's  feelings  to  such  an  extent 
that  they  evidently  induced  him  to  withhold  his  original 
statement,  and  substitute  in  its  place  a  partial  and  pal- 
pably incomplete  confession.  I  am  certain  that  this  is  the 
case,  and  my  belief  is  strengthened  by  contrasting  the 
opening  of  the  statement,  with  its  somewhat  indignant  tone, 
and  the  air  of  sincerity  with  which  it  is  invested,  with  the 
cautious,  calculating,  insincere  tone  of  the  latter  portion. 
The  statement  opens  as  follows  :  — 
17 


258  JOHN   D, 

"  It  now  becomes  my  painful,  though  imperative  duty,  to  chron- 
icle the  circumstances  that  led  to,  and  fully  describe  that  unfortu- 
nate affair,  known  as  the  Mountain  Meadows  Massacre,  in  Utah 
history,  which  has  been  shrouded  in  mystery  for  the  last  fifteen 
years,  causing  much  comment,  excitement,  and  vindictive  feeling 
throughout  the  land.  The  entire  blame  has  rested  upon  the  Mor- 
mon people  in  Utah.  Now,  in  justice  to  humanity,  I  feel  it  my 
duty  to  show  up  the  facts  as  they  exist,  according  to  the  best  of 
my  ability,  though  I  implicate  myself  by  so  doing.  I  have  no 
vindictive  feelings  whatever  against  any  man  or  class  of  individ- 
uals. What  I  do  is  done  from  a  sense  of  duty  to  myself,  my 
God,  and  to  the  people  at  large,  so  that  the  truth  may  come  to 
light,  and  the  blame  rest  where  it  properly  belongs. 

"  I  have  been  arrested  on  the  charge  of  being  engaged  in  the 
crime  committed  at  the  time  and  place  referred  to.  I  have  been 
in  close  confinement  over  eight  months  since  my  arrest.  I  was 
in  irons  three  months  of  the  time  during  my  confinement.  For 
the  last  seventeen  years  —  in  fact,  since  the  commission  of  the 
crime  —  I  have  given  this  subject  much  thought  and  reflection. 
I  have  made  the  effort  to  bear  my  confinement  with  fortitude  and 
resignation,  well  knowing  that  most  of  those  engaged  in  this  un- 
fortunate affair  were  led  on  by  religious  influences,  commonly 
called  fanaticism,  and  nothing  but  their  devotion  to  God,  and  their 
duty  to  Him,  as  taught  to  them  by  their  religion  and  their  church 
leaders,  would  ever  have  induced  them  to  commit  the  outrageous 
and  unnatural  acts,  believing  that  all  who  participated  in  the  lam- 
entable transaction,  or  most  of  them,  were  acting  under  orders 
which  they  considered  it  their  duty,  their  religious  duty,  to 
obey.  I  have  suffered  all  kinds  of  ill-treatment  and  injury,  as 
well  as  imprisonment,  rather  than  expose  these  men,  knowing  the 
circumstances  as  I  do,  and  believing  in  the  sincerity  of  their  mo- 
tives, as  I  always  have  done ;  but  I  have  a  duty  to  perform,  and 
have,  since  I  was  arrested,  become  convinced  that  it  was  not  the 
policy  of  the  government,  or  the  wish  of  the  court,  to  punish 
those  men,  but  rather  to  protect  them,  and  let  the  blame  rest  on 
their  leaders,  where  it  justly  and  lawfully  belongs. 

"  After  much  thought  and  meditation,  I  have  come  to  this  con- 
clusion :  that  I  would  no  longer  remain  silent  on  this  subject,  but, 
so  far  as  I  can,  bring  to  light  the  circumstances  connected  there- 


BRIGHAM   YOUNG'S    COMPLICITY.  259 

with,  and  remove  the  cloud  of  mystery  that  has  so  long  obscured 
the  transaction,  and  seemed  to  agitate  the  public  mind.  Believing 
it  to  be  my  duty  as  a  man,  a  duty  to  myself,  to  my  family,  to  my 
God,  and  to  humanity,  to  cast  aside  the  shackles  so  long  holding 
my  conscience,  I  now  submit  the  facts,  so  far  as  I  know  them, 
stating  nothing  from  malice,  or  for  the  purpose  of  revenge,  with- 
holding nothing  that  I  can  state  of  my  own  knowledge,  and  will- 
ing that  the  world  may  know  all  that  was  done,  and  why  the 
acts  were  committed." 

In  this  introduction,  Lee  plainly  accuses  the  leaders  of  the 
church.  The  men  "were  acting  under  orders."  Whose? 
They  could  not  have  emanated  from  the  local  officers  of 
the  church,  since  it  would  have  been  in  no  wise  a  "reli- 
gious duty  "  to  obey  orders  from  men  who  were  no  higher 
in  authority  than  themselves.  Alas  for  Lee's  "  conscience," 
the  shackles  were  more  firmly  bound  than  he  supposed. 
His  sense  of  duty  to  his  family,  his  God,  and  humanity 
was  blunted  by  the  superior  sense  of  duty  to  the  church, 
and  he  failed  utterly  to  do  what  he  had  so  faithfully  prom- 
ised in  the  opening  sentences  of  his  confession. 

After  the  disappointing  delay  caused  by  the  preparation 
of  Lee's  confession,  the  trial  went  steadily  on  to  the  end. 
The  prosecution  brought  forward  about  twenty  witnesses, 
who  corroborated  the  incidents  of  the  massacre,  and  testi- 
fied that  the  feeling  against  the  party  was  aroused  by 
George  A.  Smith,  who  everywhere  preceded  the  train,  and 
forbade  the  people  selling  them  anything,  under  pain  of  the 
church's  displeasure. 

It  was  shown,  too,  that  when,  on  being  refused  food  at 
Cedar  City,  the  last  place  at  which  they  stopped,  they  asked 
where  they  could  obtain  it,  they  were  told,  at  Mountain 
Meadows ;  which  assists  in  establishing  more  fully  the  fact 
that  the  whole  affair  was  premeditated,  and  that  the  party 
were  deliberately  led  to  their  destruction. 

But  it  remained  for  Philip  Klingensmith  to  give  the  most 
thorough  and  vivid  account  of  the  whole  massacre,  from 


260 

its  very  beginning,  when  the  first  plans  were  laid,  until  the 
day  when  he  and  Lee,  and  a  man  named  Charley  Hopkins, 
met  in  Brigham  Young's  office.  He  received  them  very 
cordially,  took  them  to  his  barn  to  show  them  his  fine 
horses,  and  treated  them  with  great  hospitality.  He  told 
Klingensmith,,  who  had  charge  of  the  property,  to  turn  it 
over  to  Lee,  as  he  was  Indian  agent,  and  the  disposal  of  it 
more  properly  belonged  to  him.  He  then  turned  to  them, 
and  said,  "What  you  know  about  this  affair  do  not  tell  to 
anybody ;  do  not  even  talk  about  it  among  yourselves." 

Klingensmith,  with  some  others,  strongly  opposed  the 
destruction  of  the  emigrants,  and  made  every  effort  to  pre- 
vent it,  but  to  no  purpose  ;  for  Lee  had  received  instructions 
from  headquarters^  and  their  fate  was  decided.  The  de- 
scription of  the  attack,  the  steady  repulse,  the  decoy  from 
the  corral,  and  the  wholesale  assassination,  was  given  ex- 
actly as  it  has  been  narrated,  scarcely  varying  at  all,  even 
in  the  slightest  detail,  ending  with  the  interview  with  Pres- 
ident Young. 

Five  participants  in  the  massacre  appeared  as  witnesses 
during  the  trial,  but  not  one  of  them,  with  the  exception  of 
Klingensmith,  admitted  that  he  fired  upon  the  emigrants. 
In  his  cross-examination,  Judge  Sutherland  said,  "I  sup- 
pose you  fired  over  the  heads  of  the  emigrants?"  "I  fired 
at  my  man,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  I  suppose  I  killed  him." 

I  think  the  transaction  has  never  seemed  so  horribly  real 
to  the  outside  public,  as  it  has  since  this  man's  testimony 
was  published  to  the  world.  Given  as  it  was  by  a  remorse- 
ful participant,  under  the  solemnity  of  a  judicial  investiga- 
tion, it  impressed  the  people  with  its  reality,  and  the  press 
of  the  country  has  been  unanimous  in  its  expressions  of 
horror,  and  its  desire  that  vengeance  should  fall  speedily  on 
the  heads  of  the  guilty  instigators. 

The  pitiful  defence  only  deepened  the  feeling  of  indigna- 
tion, and  when,  in  the  face  of  all  the  evidence,  that  was 
entirely  unrefuted,  the  jury  disagreed,  I  think  the  eyes  of 


THE    PITIFUL    RESULT.  26l 

the  nation  were  at  last  opened  to  the  utter  futility  of  ex- 
pecting justice  to  be  done,  when  Mormons  are  on  trial  in  a 
Mormon  community. 

The  end  is  not  yet.  One  of  the  chief  instigators,  George 
A.  Smith,  has  passed  on  to  a  higher  tribunal,  where  Jus- 
tice is  not  blindfold,  and  from  whose  decisions  there  is  no 
appeal.  The  other  is  left,  for  what  fate  no  one  yet  can  tell. 
It  may  be  that  his  punishment  will  not  be  given  him  here ; 
that  no  earthly  judge  shall  ever  pass  sentence  upon  him. 
But,  for  all  that,  retribution  is  none  the  less  certain,  and  the 
measure  of  suffering  which  he  has  meted  out  to  others  shall 
be  meted  out  to  him. 

In  the  mean  time  Justice  will  not  rest.  The  spirit  of  the 
nation,  fully  aroused,  demands  a  fairer  trial,  and  it  will  have 
it.  A  jury  must  be  found  who  shall  not  be  bound  by  the 
shackles  of  bigotry,  and  held  by  oaths  of  disloyalty  which 
they  dare  not  break,  but  who  will  do  their  duty  honestly, 
faithfully,  and  loyally.  Then,  and  then  only,  shall  truth 
triumph,  and  hypocrisy  and  wickedness  meet  their  just 
reward. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE   BLOOD-ATONEMENT.  — THE   DESTROYING  AN- 
GELS.—DANITES   AND   THEIR   DEEDS. 


Sweet,  Saintly  Sentiments.  —  "  He  ought  to  have  his  Throat  cut."  —  Too 
many  Gentiles  About.  —  The  Spirit  of  "  Blood- Atonement "  still  Cher- 
ished.—  Present  Position  of  Apostates.  —  How  they  used  to  be  "Cut 
Off."  —  "  Cutting  Men  off  below  the  Ears."  —  How  "  Accidents  "  hap- 
pened to  People  who  "  Knew  too  Much."  —  How  Mr.  Langford  ex- 
pressed his  Opinion  too  Freely.  —  Mormon  Friends  kindly  advise  him 
to  "  Shut  Up."  —  "  Be  on  your  Guard  !  "  —  Poetry  among  the  Saints  : 
a  Popular  Song.  —  Human  Sacrifices  Proposed!—  How  Saints  were 
taught  to  Atone  for  their  Sins.  —  "  Somebody "  ready  to  shed  their 
Blood.  —  "The  Destroying  Angels:"  who  they  were,  and  what  they 
Did.  —  Saints  told  to  do  their  own  "  Dirty  Work."  —  People  who  "  ought 
to  be  Used  Up"  —  Murdering  by  Proxy  !  —  Brigham  Ycung  proved 
to  be  the  Vilest  of  Assassins.  —  Hideous  Crimes  of  Porter  Rockwell 
and  Bill  Hickman.  —  How  Rockwell  tried  to  Murder  Governor 
Boggs.  —  Hickman  Confesses  his  Atrocious  Crimes.  —  Six  Men  Robbed 
of  $25,000,  and  then  "  Used  Up."  —  Another  Frightful  Assassination. — 
A  Council  of  Mormon  Murderers.  —  The  "Church  "  orders  the  Assas- 
sination of  the  Aikin  Party. 

T  is  only  a  very  few  weeks 
since  two  prominent  officers 
of  the  Mormon  Church  were 
overheard  in  the  street,  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  angrily  dis- 
cussing some  person  who 
had  "broken  his  covenants." 
Said  one,  — 

"  He  ought  to  have  his 
throat  cut." 

"It  wouldn't  do,"  replied 
the  other;  "there  are  too 
many  Gentiles  about." 

It  is  now  nearly  twenty 

UP  "AN  APOSTATE.  years      sinCe      the       eventful 


SWEET,    SAINTLY    SENTIMENTS. A    LITTLE    MURDER.      263 

w  Reformation  "  and  its  horrible  teachings,  and  the  effects  are 
still  felt.  The  principles  that  Young,  and  Grant,  and 
Kimball,  and  their  fellows  taught  then  have  not  been  for- 
gotten in  all  these  years  that  have  intervened,  and  it  is  only 
the  presence  of  a  large  "Gentile"  element  that  prevents 
the  full  exercise  of  the  "  Blood- Atonement." 

There  never  has  been  any  real  and  impartial  trial  by  jury 
in  Utah.  No  twelve  men  could  be  found  and  sworn  in  who 
would  dare  to  render  an  unbiassed  verdict.  This  has  been 
repeatedly  seen  in  trials  which  have  taken  place.  So  true  is 
it,  that  hundreds  of  Gentiles  who  are  conscious  of  the  justice 
of  their  several  causes,  would  never  think  of  bringing  them 
into  court  during  the  existing  state  of  affairs.  They  know  it 
would  be  useless.  Prejudice  runs  high  ;  in  fact,  so  high  that 
outsiders  are  perfectly  incapable  of  realizing  it.  Still ,  murders 
have  been  fewer  of  late,  for  President  Young  knows  that  the 
eye  of  Uncle  Sam  is  fixed  with  no  small  degree  of  sternness 
upon  the  City  of  the  Saints  ;  and,  more  important  still,  Deseret 
has  not  yet  been  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State  1 

Yet  the  spirit  of  assassination  still  remains ;  and  were  it 
unchecked,  hundreds  would  be  added  to  the  already  appall- 
ingly long  list  of  men  and  women  foully  dealt  with  and 
sent  into  eternity  without  a  moment's  warning,  for  no  crime 
at  all  except  for  daring  to  differ,  if  ever  so  slightly,  from 
those  in  authority.  If  any  person,  deceived  by  the  present 
peaceful  attitude  of  the  Mormon  leaders  and  their  constant 
boast  that  crime  is  almost  unknown  among  them,  thinks 
that  they  have  altered  in  their  real  views  at  all  since  the 
days  when  they  first  advocated  the  w  Blood- Atonement,"  he 
is  very  much  mistaken.  The  feelings  that  they  have  been 
obliged  to  hide  are  bitterer  because  they  have  not  dared  to 
show  them. 

An  apostate  nowadays  is  comparatively  safe  from  any 
deeds  of  violence  on  their  part.  The  most  they  can  do  is 
to  abuse  him  through  their  newspapers,  and  curse  him  in 
the  church,  and  give  him  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of 


264  LIFE   IN    DANGER. GENTILES,    BEWARE  ! 

Satan;  but  as  "Deseret"  newspaper  abuse  is  rarely  heard 
outside  of  the  church  which  it  represents,  and  as  the  curs- 
ing does  not  produce  physical  hurt,  and  as  Satan's  mercies 
are  to  the  full  as  tender  as  theirs,  the  Gentile  does  not  mind 
anything  about  the  whole  of  it,  but  goes  on  his  way  qui- 
etly enough. 

But  twenty,  fifteen,  even  ten  years  ago,  an  apostate's  or 
Gentile's  life  was  worth  absolutely  nothing.  It  was  difficult 
to  tell  which  of  the  two  they  hated  with  the  most  deadly 
hatred.  The  doom  of  either  was  irrevocably  fixed,  and  it 
came,  swift  and  sudden,  often  before  he  knew  that  danger 
menaced  him.  It  did  not  need  actual  knowledge  of  a  man's 
defection  from  the  church,  or  that  his  disapprobation  of  the 
course  pursued  by  leaders  should  be  openly  expressed ;  it 
was  enough  that  he  should  be  merely  suspected,  and  his 
fate  was  just  as  certain,  coming  swift  and  sure,  before  he 
had  -even  an  opportunity  of  defending  himself. 

A  strict  surveillance  was  kept  over  the  movements  of  any 
stranger  in  the  city,  and  if  his  words  or  actions  displeased 
the  Mormon  spies,  he  never  got  far  beyond  city  limits  on 
his  onward  journey  before  some  sad  accident  befell  him, 
which  left  him  lying  dead  by  the  road-side.  It  was  well 
when  a  stranger  had  any  person  to  caution  him  against  any 
expression  of  his  mind  against  the  people  or  their  religion ; 
above  all,  against  their  beloved  institution  of  polygamy,  for 
they  are  very  sensitive  on  this  point,  hating  and  dreading 
criticism  in  the  very  thing,  above  all  others,  that  provokes 
and  invites  it.  In  this  case  he  might  escape  with  nothing 
more  terrible  than  the  consciousness  of  a  spy  dogging  his 
every  footstep  and  listening  to  every  word. 

In  the  autumn  of  1863,  Mr.  N.  P.  Langford,  of  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota  (the  author  of  the  "Yellowstone  Articles,"  pub- 
lished a  few  years  since  in  Scribner's  Magazine) ,  in  com- 
pany with  several  others,  started  from  Montana  for  Salt 
Lake  City.  While  on  the  journey  they  fell  in  with  a  party 
of  Mormons,  numbering  eight,  —  all  men,  and  all  bound 


HOW   A   GENTILE    WAS    "  SHUT    UP."  265 

for  Salt  Lake  City.  The  two  parties  travelled  together  the 
remainder  of  the  way,  and  became  very  friendly.  As  a 
natural  consequence  of  this  companionship,  the  talk  turned 
upon  Mormonism,  and  the  arguments  between  them  were 
frequent  and  interesting. 

One  of  the  Mormons,  named  Cunningham,  was  a  very 
intelligent  man,  and,  while  contending  that  his  was  the 
only  true  faith,  would  argue  with  Langford,  without  show- 
ing any  ill  feeling  —  a  very  uncommon  thing  for  a  Mormon 
to  do,  by  the  way,  since  they  are  usually  so  very  intolerant 
that  they  will  not  listen  to  an  opponent  with  the  least  degree 
of  patience,  but,  at  the  first  sign  of  opposition,  lose  temper, 
and,  instead  of  fairly  arguing  the  question,  shower  anath- 
emas on  the  one  who  has  dared  to  call  their  religion  in 
question.  It  must  be  a  weak  position  that  can  only  be  de- 
fended by  vituperation. 

At  night,  while  round  the  camp-fire,  the  Mormons  would 
sing  of  Brigham  as  "  the  word  of  the  Lord,"  and  what 
Langford  called  a  "string  of  nursery  rhymes,"  in  which 
Cunningham  would  sing  the  solo,  and  the  rest  the  chorus. 
The  idea  conveyed  in  these  rhymes  was,  that  only  in  Mor- 
monism was  happiness  to  be  found,  and  that  they  were  glad 
that  they  were  Mormons. 

After  the  party  arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City,  Cunningham 
called  Langford  on  one  side,  and  said  to  him,  "You  boys 
seem  to  be  pretty  good  fellows,  and  I  do  not  wish  you  to  come 
to  harm,  and  will  give  you  a  word  of  advice.  Here  in  Salt 
Lake,  you  must  not  express  yourselves  about  Mormonism 
as  you  have  when  you  have  talked  with  me  ;  for,  if  you  do, 
your  lives  won't  be  worth  a  cent." 

"Why  so?  "  asked  Langford. 

"Because  you  will  be  assassinated,"  was  the  reply. 

Langford  thanked  him,  and  followed  his  advice.  Soon 
afterwards  he  mentioned  the  fact  to  a  Gentite  with  whom 
he  had  business,  who  in  reply  said,  "You  must  do  as  he 
says,  or  you  will  never  leave  the  city  alive.  Do  you  see 


266  "  HE    IS    A   MORMON    SPY  !  " 

that  man  with  a  gray  coat?  He  is  a  Mormon  spy,  and  is 
evidently  watching  you,  and  will  watch  you  as  long  as  you 
remain  in  the  city.  I  say,  as  your  Mormon  adviser  did, 
Be  on  your  guard." 

During  all  the  time  that  Langford  was  in  the  city  he  was 
followed  by  this  man,  and  he  said  he  felt  sure  that  if  one 
word  in  disparagement,  or  criticism,  of  the  Mormon  peo- 
ple, or  their  religion,  had  crossed  his  lips,  he  would  have 
been  a  dead  man.  He  followed  the  advice  he  received, 
however,  else  the  readers  of  Scribner  would  not  have  been 
so  charmingly  entertained  afterwards,  as  they  were  by  his 
readable  articles. 

It  may  seem  like  digressing  somewhat,  but  I  cannot  re- 
frain from  quoting  the  "  nursery  rhymes  "  which  the  Mor- 
mons sang  by  the  camp-fire,  and  which  evidently  impressed 
Langford  with  their  absurdity.  These  rhymes  are  printed 
in  the  Mormon  Sunday-school  song-book,  and  are  sung  in 
Sunday-schools  and  religious  meetings  to  the  tune  of  "  The 
Bonny  Breast  Knots."  They  are  a  most  remarkable  piece 
of  religious  composition. 

"  What  peace  and  joy  pervade  the  soul, 
And  sweet  sensations  through  me  roll, 
And  love  and  peace  my  heart  console, 
Since  first  I  met  the  Mormons ! 

"  They  sing  the  folly  of  the  wise ; 
Sectarian  precepts  they  despise  ; 
A  heaven  far  above  the  skies 

Is  never  sought  by  Mormons. 

"  To  Sabbath  meetings  they  repair ; 
Both  old  and  young  assemble  there, 
The  words  of  inspiration  share : 
No  less  can  suit  the  Mormons. 

"  At  night  the  Mormons  do  convene, 
To  chat  a  while,  and  sing  a  hymn ; 
And  one,  perchance,  repeat  a  rhyme 
He  made  about  the  Mormons. 


SING,  "DADDY,  I'M  A  MORMON!"  267 

"  The  Mormon  fathers  love  to  see 
Their  Mormon  families  all  agree  ; 
The  prattling  infant  on  his  knee 

Cries,  '  Daddy,  I'm  a  Mormon  ! ' 

"  As  youth  in  Israel  once  decried, 
To  wed  with  those  that  Heaven  denied, 
So  youth  among  us  now  have  cried, 
4  We'll  marry  none  but  Mormons.' 

"  High  be  our  heaven,  the  Mormons  cry, 
Our  place  of  birth,  and  when  they  die, 
Celestialize  and  purify 

This  earth  for  perfect  Mormons. 

"  So,  while  we  tread  the  foeman's  ground, 
We'll  make  the  trump  of  freedom  sound, 
And  scatter  blessings  all  around, 
Like  free  and  happy  Mormons. 

[  Chorus  to  each  verse.~\ 

"  Hey,  the  merry,  O,  the  busy, 
Hey,  the  sturdy  Mormons  ; 
I  never  knew  what  joy  was 
Till  I  became  a  Mormon." 

I  have  heard  women  singing  this  chorus  in  some  meet- 
ing, because  they  dared  not  be  silent,  when  their  faces 
belied  the  words  of  the  song,  and  who  I  knew  hated  the 
life  which  they  were  compelled  to  live,  and  who  had  seen 
nothing  but  the  most  abject  misery  since  they  had  entered 
it;  whose  lives  were  one  long,  terrible  torture,  and  who 
would  have  been  perfectly  happy  had  they  seen  any  way 
of  escape  from  it. 

The  dangers  of  non-Mormons  in  1863,  great  as  they 
were,  were  much  less  than  in  days  just  succeeding  the 
"Reformation,"  which  days  have  been  rightly  called  "The 
Reign  of  Terror."  It  was  a  terrible  time,  indeed,  and  one 
fairly  shudders  to  recall  the  blood-curdling  atrocities  that 


268  DESTROYING    ANGELS.         * 

were  committed  at  that  period.  All  "in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,"  too,  and  as  an  exercise  of  religious  faith.  The 
Spirit  of  the  New  Testament,  the  Christ-like  spirit,  breath- 
ing out  "peace  on  earth,  goodwill  to  men,"  seemed  en- 
tirely lost.  The  "  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  the  Latter- 
Day  Saints  "  forgot  the  sweet  song  of  good-fellowship  and 
love  that  the  angels  sang  at  the  birth  of  Him  whom  they 
professed  to  follow,  and  by  whose  name  they  were  called. 
The  angry  denunciations  of  fanatics  and  religious  tyrants, 
and  their  servile  followers,  demanding  blood  and  calling 
loudly  and  openly  for  the  sacrifice  of  human  life,  and  the 
destruction  of  all  who  dared  to  differ  from  them,  drowned 
the  angel  voices. 

The  old  Mosaic  spirit  of  retribution  was  abroad  in  all  its 
most  fearful  force.  "  Altars  of  sacrifice  "  were  loudly  recom- 
mended, and  the  victims  were  advised  to  place  themselves 
thereon  voluntarily ;  if  they  would  not  become  willing  sac- 
rifices, they  became  involuntary  ones,  for  "  somebody  "  took 
the  matter  in  hand,  and  saw  that  the  "  atonement "  was 
made. 

Usually  this  mysterious  "  somebody "  was  one  of  the 
"Danites,"  or  "Destroying-Angels,"  a  band  of  men  regu- 
larly organized  for  the  purpose  of  putting  obnoxious  per- 
sons out  of  the  way.  It  is  said  that  the  band  had  its  origin 
in  Missouri,  in  the  early  days  of  Mormonism,  before  the 
settlement  of  Nauvoo.  But  they  never  became  so  very 
notorious  until  the  "Reformation "  times,  when  their  peculiar 
talents  were  called  into  play,  and  their  services  into  con- 
stant requisition. 

As  loudly  as  the  Mormon  leaders  talked  to  the  people 
about  doing  their  "  dirty  work"  themselves,  they,  neverthe- 
less, shrank  from  soiling  their  own  fingers ;  so  they  em- 
ployed others  to  do  their  own  share,  and  contented  them- 
selves by  saying  that  such  a  person  ought  to  be  "used  up," 
and  thinking  no  more  of  it  until  they  received  the  news  of  a 
mysterious  death.  In  this  way  Brigham  Young  has  "  man- 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    SOMEBODY  I 


269 


aged  "  a  great  many  murders,  of  which  he  would  probably 
avow  himself  entirely  guiltless,  since  his  hand  did  not  per- 
form the  deed.  But  though  his  hand  may  have  no  blood- 
stain to  haunt  him,  yet  his  heart  must  be  terribly  weighted 
with  the  load  of  guilt,  which  he  cannot  shake  off,  let  him 
try  as  hard  as  he  may.  To  look  at  the  man,  rosy  and 
smiling,  comfortable  in  every  particular,  you  would  never 
take  him  to  be  the  hard,  cruel  despot  he  is.  He  looks 
clean  enough  outwardly,  but  within  he  is  filled  with  moral 
rottenness  to  the  very  core. 

Among  the  men  he  has  employed,  the  most  notorious  are 
Orrin  Porter  Rockwell,  known  familiarily  as  "  Port"  Rock- 
well, and  William,  or,  as  he  is  called,  " Bill"  Hickman. 
"  Port"  was  an  old  friend  and  ally  of  Joseph  Smith,  hold- 
ing very  much  the  same  relation  to  him  that  "  Bill  Hick- 
man "  has  held  to  the  present  Prophet.  Among  other 
things  of  which  he  was  accused,  was  the  murder  of  Gov- 
ernor Boggs,  of  Missouri. 
Joseph  Smith  and  he  were 
both  accused,  the  former 
of  instigating  the  murder, 
the  latter  for  committing 
it ;  but  Smith  got  free 
without  a  trial,  through 
some  quibble  of  the  law, 
and  Rockwell  proved  that 
he  was  in  another  place  at 
the  time  of  the  attempted 
assassination.  He  was 
always  near  the  Prophet 
in  the^time  of  danger,  and,  in  return,  Joseph  promised 
"  Port "  that  so  long  as  he  wore  his  hair  uncut  his  life 
should  be  safe.  So  he  still  wears  his  hair  long,  in  braided 
queues  down  his  back,  and  he  says  that  he  shall  live  until 
every  enemy  of  Joseph  Smith  is  killed. 

His  evil  deeds  will  probably  equal,  if  not  outnumber,  Bill 


BRIGHAM'S   "DESTROYING  ANGEL," 
ROCKWELL, 


PORT  ' 


270  CONFESSION    OF   THE    MURDERER    HICKMAN. 

Hickman's ;  but  the  latter,  either  touched  with  remorse  at 
the  remembrance  of  all  the  crimes  which  he  had  committed, 
or  else  annoyed  because  Brigham  was  so  avaricious  and 
parsimonious,  and  did  not  give  him  money  enough,  or  be- 
cause he  thought  to  save  his  own  neck,  turned  State's 
evidence  against  Brigham  and  the  other  Mormon  leaders, 
and  made  what  he  calls  a  "  full  confession  "  of  his  crimes. 
The  list  of  them  is  perfectly  appalling,  and  he  claims  that 
he  did  them  all  at  Young's  instigation. 

Among  the  most  famous  of  the  murders  was  that  of 
Lobbs,  and  the  massacre  of  the  "  Aiken  party"  —  a  deed  that 
stands  in  cold-blooded  atrocity  and  treachery  next  to  the 
"  Mountain  Meadow  Massacre,"  and  in  which  Port  Rock- 
well figures  also.  It  was  a  deed  that  could  be  committed 
by  no  one  except  the  fanatical  Mormons,  who  were  drunk 
with  "  Reformation  "  excitement,  and  filled  with  an  insane 
desire  for  blood-shedding. 

A  party  of  six  men,  on  their  way  from  Sacramento, 
which  city  they  had  left  in  May,  1857,  going,  as  it  was  sup- 
posed, to  join  Johnston's  army.  A  part  of  the  way  they 
travelled  with  a  party  of  Mormons  who  were  ordered  home 
from  Missouri  to  assist  in  the  "Mormon  war." 

The  Mormon  party  took  a  great  liking  to  them  all,  and 
the  relations  between  them  were  very  amicable.  John 
Pendleton,  one  of  the  Mormons,  said  in  his  testimony, 
w  They  were  kind,  polite,  and  brave,  and  always  ready  to 
do  anything  that  was  needed."  Unfortunately  for  them, 
they  got  impatient  at  the  slowness  with  which  the  Mormon 
party  travelled,  and  so  they  left  it,  and  hurried  on.  At 
Raysville,  a  town  about  twenty-five  miles  north  of  Salt 
Lake,  they  were  all  arrested  on  the  charge  of  being  gov- 
ernment spies.  A  few  days  after  their  arrest,  the  Mormon 
party  came  in,  and  Pendleton,  it  seems,  instantly  recog- 
nized their  horses  in  the  public  corral.  He  at  once  in- 
quired what  it  meant,  and  on  being  told  that  the  party  had 
been  arrested  as  spies,  he  replied,  with  an  oath,  that  it  was 


A   FEW   MEN  !  271 

impossible  ;  that  they  knew  nothing  about  the  army  ;  that, 
in  fact,  they  had  been  their  companions  nearly  all  the  way. 
"Can't  help  it ;  we  shall  keep  them,"  was  the  reply.  When 
it  is  remembered  that  they  had  property  with  them  to  the 
amount  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  I  think  their  deten- 
tion will  be  fully  explained. 

They  were  tried  as  spies,  and  nothing  being  proved 
against  them,  they  were  promised  safe-conduct  out  of  the 
Territory,  but  they  must  be  sent  by  the  southern  route. 
Four  of  them  went,  leaving  the  other  two  of  their  party  in 
the  city,  accompanied  by  Rockwell,  John  Lot,  a  man  of  the 
name  of  Watts,  and  one  other  man.  At  Nephi,  one  hun- 
dred miles  south  of  Salt  Lake,  Rockwell  informed  Bishop 
Bryant  that  the  party  were  to  be  "used  up"  there.  A 
council  was  held,  and  the  Bishop  appointed  four  more  men 
to  assist  the  four  who  had  the  men  in  charge.  Among 
these  last  appointed  was  the  Bishop's  own  counsellor,  Pitch- 
for,  and  a  man  named  Bigbee,  who  is  now  a  Bishop. 
This  part}r  of  four  started  early  in  the  night,  while  the 
Aikens'  party  did  not  leave  until  daylight.  When  they 
reached  the  Sevier  River,  Rockwell  said  he  thought  they 
had  better  camp  there,  for  they  could  find  no  other  camp- 
ing-place that  day;  so  they  stopped.  Very  soon  the  other 
party,  who  had  been  lying  in  wait  for  them,  approached, 
and  asked  permission  to  camp  with  them,  which  was  readily 
granted. 

The  men  were  tired,  and  removing  their  arms,  they  were 
soon  sound  asleep.  Their  treacherous  companions  hovered 
over  them  like  greedy  birds  of  prey.  Why  didn't  something 
warn  those  men  of  the  terrible  fate  that  was  in  store  for 
them?  But  there  came  no  voice  of  warning,  and  still  they 
slept  on  as  peacefully  and  as  trustfully  as  though  in  their 
own  homes  among  those  who  loved  them  ;  and  still  the 
assassins  hovered  over  them,  waiting  for  what  they  did  not 
know.  They  discussed  the  manner  in  which  the  deed 
should  be  done,  and  decided  not  to  use  fire-arms.  Armed 


272    TOO  TRUE!  —  THE  STORY  OF  A  BLOODY  DEED. 

with  clubs,  they  crept  stealthily  up  to  where  their  sleeping 
companions  lay,  and  dealt  furious  blows  at  them  while  they 
slept.  Two  of  the  men  died  without  a  struggle ;  John 
Aiken  was  but  slightly  wounded,  and  rose  to  his  feet  to  de- 
fend himsef,  but  received  a  shot  from  the  pistol  of  one  of  the 
men  which  laid  him  senseless.  A  man  called  the  "  Colonel," 
believing  the  whole  party  were  attacked  by  robbers,  made 
his  way  into  the  bush,  receiving  as  he  went  a  shot  in  the 
shoulder  from  "  Port "  Rockwell's  pistols.  He  succeeded  in 


MURDER  OF  AIKEN  PARTY. 


evading  his  pursuers,  and  made  his  way  to  Nephi,  twenty- 
five  miles  distant,  and  arrived,  pale  and  drenched  with 
blood,  at  Bishop  Foote's,  whose  guests  the  party  had  been 
during  their  stay  in  Nephi.  He  told  his  story,  which  was 
listened  to  with  a  surprise  and  horror  that  were  well 
feigned. 

The  three  bodies  were  thrown  into  the  river ;  but  in  some 
miraculous  manner,  in  spite  of  his  wounds,  John  Aiken 
managed  to  get  ashore,  and,  hiding  in  the  bush,  he  heard 
one  of  the  men  ask  Rockwell  "  if  all  the  damned  Gentiles 
were  dead ;  "  to  which  the  other  replied,  that  they  were,  all 


W  THEY    WEPT    LIKE    CHILDREN  I" 

but  one,  but  that  he  ran  away.  Aiken  lay  quietly  until  he 
heard  the  assassins  leave;  then  he 'made  his  way,  as  best 
he  could,  through  the  cold  November  night,  drenched  with 
water,  sorely  wounded,  and  with  very  little  clothing,  back 
to  Nephi.  He  knew  who  were  his  attempted  assassins,  and 
he  knew  that  to  go  to  Nephi  was  to  go  directly  back  into 
the  jaws  of  death ;  but  he  did  not  know  what  else  to  do ;  so 
he  plodded  painfully  on  until  he  reached  the  town,  where 
he  sank  fainting  at  the  door  of  the  very  first  house  which  he 
reached.  The  woman  of  the  house  was  surprised  at  his 
appearance,  and  told  him  that  another  one  was  at  Bishop 
Foote's.  "It  is  my  brother  ! "  he  exclaimed,  and  moved  away 
from  the  door.  No  one  attempted  to  stop  him ;  all  were 
too  much  shocked  at  his  appearance  and  manner,  and  he 
reached  Bishop  Foote's  in  safety,  where  he  found  not  his 
brother,  but  the  "Colonel." 

The  meeting  between  them  was  heart-rending.  They 
wept  like  children,  and,  falling  into  each  other's  arms,  em- 
braced one  another  with  all  the  tenderness  of  women.  And 
the  Mormon  men  looked  on  and  coolly  decided  upon  the 
manner  of  their  death. 

Bishop  Bryant  came  with  condolences  and  regrets  at  their 
own  misfortunes  and  the  sad  fate  of  their  friends,  extracted 
the  balls,  dressed  the  wounds,  and  advised  them  to  return, 
as  soon  as  they  possibly  could,  to  Salt  Lake  City.  In  the 
mean  time  the  murderers  were  in  Nephi,  concocting  a  new 
plan  of  assassination.  It  is  said  that  the  men  had  saved  a 
watch  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  a  pistol. 
When  they  got  ready  to  leave,  a  bill  for  thirty  dollars  was 
presented  to  them,  which,  having  no  money  with  them,  they 
promised  to  settle  directly  on  their  return  to  Salt  Lake. 
They  were  told  that  such  an  arrangement  could  not  be 
made ;  so  Aiken  said,  "  Well,  here  is  my  watch  and  my 
partner's  pistol ;  you  can  take  which  you  choose."  With- 
out hesitation  the  Bishop  took  the  pistol ;  so  leaving  the  men 
entirely  unarmed.  As  he  gave  it  to  Foote,  he  turned  to 
18 


274  GETTING    RID    OF   THE    CORPSES  ! 

his  friend  and  said,  with  the  tears  rolling  down  his  face, 
"  Prepare  for  death  ;  we  shall  never  leave  this  Valley 
alive." 

Previous  to  their  departure,  John  Aiken  had  commenced 
to  write  an  account  of  the  affair ;  but  it  moved  him  so  that 
he  was  utterly  unable  to  proceed  with  it,  and  so  he  got  a 
son  of  Bishop  Foote,  who  had  proved  a  good  friend  to  them, 
to  finish  it  for  him.  This  account,  by  some  mysterious 
good  fortune,  has  never  been  destroyed. 

They  had  got  but  a  few  miles  from  Nephi  when  the 
driver  of  their  wagon  —  a  Mormon,  and  in  the  plot  —  stopped 
in  front  of  an  old  cabin,  and  saying  that  he  must  water  his 
horses,  unhitched  them  and  led  them  away.  Instantly,  two 
men  stepped  from  the  cabin,  and  before  the  doomed  men  could 
realize  the  situation,  fired  at  them,  killing  them  instantly ; 
they  were  then  taken  from  the  wagon,  and,  loaded  with 
stone,  put  in  a  "bottomless  spring,"  —  such  as  is  often  seen 
in  Utah. 

While  this  atrocious  act  of  villany  was  going  on,  Rock- 
well and  his  men  had  returned  to  Salt  Lake,  and  taking  the 
remaining  ones  of  the  party,  had  started  southward  with 
them,  plying  them  with  liquor  constantly.  One  of  them, 
named  Back,  feigned  drunkenness ;  but  the  other  man  was 
absolutely  insensible  when  they  reached  the  "  Point  of  the 
Mountain,"  where  it  had  been  decided  to  make  away  with 
them;  or,  in  Danite  parlance,  "use  them  up."  They  were 
suddenly  attacked  with  slung-shot.  The  drunken  man  was 
quickly  despatched,  without  the  slightest  trouble  ;  but  Back, 
who  had  been  suspicious  of  his  companions,  and  had  been 
on  the  lookout  for  treachery,  leaped  from  the  wagon,  and 
succeeded  in  outrunning  his  pursuers  and  in  evading  their 
bullets.  He  swam  the  Jordan,  and  came  down  to  the  city, 
where  he  told  the  whole  story,  creating  a  tremendous  ex- 
citement. Brigham  was  terribly  exercised,  and  sent  at  once 
for  Hickman,  telling  him,  in  his  usual  refined  manner, 
"  The  boys  have  made  a  bad  job  putting  a  man  out  of  the 


275 

way.  They  all  got  drunk,  bruised  up  a  fellow,  and  he  got 
away  from  them  at  the  Point  of  the  Mountain,  came  back 
to  the  city,  and  is  telling  all  that  has  happened,  which  is 
making  a  bad  stink." 

He  then  told  him  that  he  must  find  that  man  and  use  him 
up ;  that,  first  of  all,  he  was  to  go  and  find  George  Grant 
and  William  Kimball,  both  of  whom  were  "generals"  in 
the  Utah  militia,  and  consult  with  them  about  having  him 
taken  care  of.  Hickman  found  the  "  generals  "  decidedly 
disgusted  at  "Rockwell's  mismanagement  of  the  affair,"  as 
they  termed  it ;  that  something  must  be  done,  and  that  at 
once,  and  asked  if  Brigham  had  sent  him  up.  On  being  told 
that  he  had,  they  informed  him  that  they  had  arranged 
everything,  and  only  wished  him  to  carry  out  their  arrange- 
ments and  follow  their  instructions. 

They  had  planned  with  a  man  with  whom  Back  had 
stayed  a  great  deal  on  his  first  arrival  in  Utah,  and  in  whom 
he  had  implicit  confidence,  to  invite  him  to  visit  him.  He 
was  to  come  to  town  to  fetch  him  to  his  home,  which  was 
about  twelve  miles  from  the  city,  and  Hickman  was  to  meet 
them  on  the  way  and  despatch  Back.  He  was  to  go  a  cer- 
tain road,  which  was  very  quiet,  being  but  little  travelled, 
was  to  drive  white  horses,  and  was  to  go  very  fast.  Hick- 
man and  another  man  named  Meacham  started  out  a  little 
before  sundown,  and  rode  to  the  appointed  spot.  About 
dusk,  the  wagon  with  the  white  horses  came  swiftly  along; 
the  two  men  were  talking  interestedly,  and  the  poor  victim 
of  this  treacherous  plan  was  entirely  off  his  guard :  sup- 
posing himself  to  be  with  a  friend,  no  thought  of  harm  had 
entered  his  mind,  and  he  was  entirely  unprepared  for  his 
cruel  fate.  Hickman  and  Meacham  stepped  suddenly  out 
into  the  lonely  road,  and  called  to  the  driver  to  halt,  at  the 
same  time  firing  at  Back,  shooting  him  through  the  head, 
and  killing  him  instantly.  The  body  was  put  into  a  ditch, 
a  rag  hung  on  a  bush  to  mark  the  spot,  and  the  assassins 
returned  to  George  Grant's  house  to  report  their  success* 


276         CRYING    FOR   VENGEANCE    FROM    THE    GRAVE  ! 

They  found  Grant,  Kimball,  and  Port  Rockwell  all  there,  and 
after  hearing  the  result  of  the  expedition,  all  took  spades 
and  went  out  and  buried  the  man.  The  next  day  Hickman 
gave  an  account  of  the  affair  to  Young,  who  expressed  him- 
self as  delighted  that  he  had  been  put  out  of  the  way. 

It  was  fourteen  years  before  the  truth  of  this  affair  was 
known.  It  was  for  a  while  shrouded  in  deep  mystery,  and 
the  blood  of  the  innocent  victims  cried  out  for  retribution 
unheeded  and  unnoted  for  all  those  years.  Now  their  fate  is 
known  beyond  a  doubt,  and  foremost  in  the  list  of  assassins 
stands  the  name  of  Brigham  Young. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

FRIGHTFUL    DEEDS    OF    BLOOD.  —  MORMONISM    IN    ITS 
TRUE    LIGHT. 

The  Yates  Murder.  —  Brigham  and  the  Leading  Mormons  Arrested  for 
the  Crime.  —  Mr.  Yates  accused  of  being  a  Spy.  —  He  is  Arrested  and 
his  Goods  Seized.  —  Bill  Hickman  takes  possession  of  the  Prisoner's 
Body.  —  Brigham  Embezzles  his  Gold.  —  Another  Saint  steals  his 
Watch.  —  Hickman  carries  him  to  Jones's  Camp.  —  He  is  murdered 
there  while  Asleep.  —  Hickman  asks  Brigham  for  a  Share  of  the 
Spoil.  —  The  Prophet  refuses  ;  sticks  to  every  Cent.  —  Hickman's 
"  faith  "  in  Mormonism  is  Shaken.  —  His  fellow-murderer  Apostatizes 
Outright.  —  How  Bill  was  finally  "paid  in  Wives."  —  He  tries  a  little 
matter  of  Seventeen.  —  Fiendish  Outrage  at  San  Pete.  —  Bishop  Snow 
contrives  the  Damnable  Deed.  —  The  fate  of  his  Victims.  —  A  Myste- 
rious Marriage.  —  The  Feather-beds  and  the  Prophet.  —  Mrs.  Lewis 
comes  to  Live  with  Me. 


BOUT  this  time,  when  the 
Aiken  party  were  cut  off, 
as  I  have  just  related,  by 
Brigham  Young's  express 
command,  another  horrible 
murder  was  perpetrated 
under  circumstances  of 
equal  atrocity,  which  has 
since  attracted  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  public 
attention. 

The  reason  of  the  Yates 
murder  becoming  so  noto- 
rious, was  not  because  it 

FARM-HOUSE. 

was   so  much   worse   than 
hundreds  of  other  murders  which  have  been  committed  in 


278 

Mormondom,  but  because  Brigham  Young  and  other  Mor- 
mon officials  were  arrested  as  the  murderers.  Hickman 
turned  State's  evidence,  and  it  is  from  his  own  account  that 
I  take  the  leading  facts  of  the  assassination. 

Yates  was  a  trader  on  Green  River,  and  was  accused  by 
the  Mormons  of  being  a  government  spy.  In  those  days, 
if  no  other  charge  could  be  brought  against  a  person,  he 
was  called  a  "spy;"  and  this,  of  course,  gave  sufficient 
reason  for  putting  him  out  of  the  way  very  summarily. 
The  Mormons  were  also  annoyed  because,  although  among 
his  stores  he  had  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition,  he  would 
not  sell  it  unless  the  purchasers  bought  other  goods.  They 
then  accused  him  of  supplying  the  army,  and  arresting 
him,  carried  him  to  Fort  Bridger,  while  they  took  posses- 
sion of  his  store,  stock,  &c. 

Hickman  was  detailed  to  take  the  prisoner  to  the  city, 
and  Yates's  money  —  nine  hundred  dollars  in  gold  —  was 
given  him  to  carry  to  Brigham  Young.  His  watch  was 
"taken  care  of "  by  some  one  at  Bridger.  Hickman  was 
accompanied  by  a  brother  of  his,  a  Gentile,  who  was  on  a 
visit  to  him ;  Meacham,  the  one  who  was  connected  with 
him  in  the  murder  of  Back ;  and  a  man  of  the  name  of 
Flack.  On  their  way  they  were  met  by  Joseph  A.  Young, 
who  informed  them  that  his  father  wanted  Yates  killed,  and 
that  he,  Hickman,  was  to  take  him  to  Jones's  camp,  where 
he  would  receive  further  orders.  The  party  arrived  at 
camp  that  evening  about  sundown,  and  that  night  Yates 
was  murdered  as  he  lay  asleep  by  the  camp-fire. 

Hickman  and  Flack  carried  the  news  and  the  money  to 
Brigham.  He  was  very  affable  until  Hickman  suggested 
that,  as  they  had  been  to  much  expense,  he  thought  part  of 
the  money  ought  to  come  to  them.  His  manner  changed 
at  once ;  he  reprimanded  the  men  very  severely,  and  told 
them  that  the  money  was  needed  for  the  church  ;  it  must  go 
towards  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  war.  Flack  aposta- 


THE    DEVIL'S    DIRTIEST    WORK. ANOTHER    "ANGEL!"    279 


BILL  HICKMAN,  BRIGHAM'S 
ANGEL." 


1  DESTROYING 


tized  at  once ;  renounced  Mormonism  on  the  spot ;  it  evi- 
dently didn't  "pay"  well  enough  to  suit  him,  and  Hickman 
himself  was  disgusted  with  the  meanness  of  his  master. 
He  said  that  Brigham  never 
gave  him  one  dollar  for  all  the 
"dirty  work"  he  had  done  for 
him ;  he  never  made  him  the 
slightest  present.  But  he  paid 
him,  it  is  said,  in  wives.  I 
think  he  had  seventeen,  and  a 
large  number  of  children. 

It  was  a  class  of  men  like 
this      that      the     Reformation 
brought    to    the    surface,    and 
capital  tools  they  made   for  a 
corrupt  and  bloodthirsty  priest- 
hood.    They  were  earnest  dis- 
ciples of  the  "  Blood- Atonement,"  and  could  slay  an  apos- 
tate or  a  Gentile  with  no  compunctions  of  conscience.    Yet, 
bad  as  they  were,  they  did  not  equal  in  villany  the  men 
who  employed  them,  and  then  refused  to  pay  them. 

Everything,  even  the  most  trifling,  that  a  person  did, 
which  was  at  all  offensive  to  any  member  of  the  priesthood, 
was  accounted  apostasy,  and  punishment  administered  as 
speedily  as  possible.  Hundreds  of  innocent  victims  have 
been  sacrificed  in  this  way,  merely  to  gratify  a  petty,  per- 
sonal revenge,  or  to  remove  some  person  who  chanced  to 
be  distasteful.  Fanaticism  and  bigotry  were  at  that  time  at 
flood  tide,  and  some  of  the  most  revolting  and  heart-sick- 
ening crimes  were  committed.  Many  of  them  were  un- 
known outside  the  places  where  they  occurred,  and  so 
common  were  they  that,  beyond  an  involuntary  feeling  of 
horror,  and  a  vague  sort  of  wonder  as  to  who  would  be  the 
next  victim,  nothing  was  thought  of  them;  until,  after  the 
excitement  began  to  die  away,  and  the  people  had  time  to 
recall  the  scenes  of  horror,  they  began  to  realize,  to  a  cer- 


280  HORRIBLE    CRIMES    IN   THE    SETTLEMENTS. 

tain  extent,  what  they  had  been  passing  through.  Some 
of  the  crimes  were  almost  too  shocking  even  to  mention ; 
they  could  not  be  given  in  detail. 

Among  the  victims  to  priestly  hatred  and  jealousy  was  a 
young  man  about  twenty  years  of  age,  in  San  Pete  County, 
named  Thomas  Lewis,  a  very  quiet,  inoffensive  fellow, 
much  liked  by  all  who  knew  him,  very  retiring  in  his  man- 
ners, and  not  particularly  fond  of  gay  society.  He  lived 
with  his  widowed  mother,  and  the  very  sweetest,  tenderest 
relations  that  can  exist  between  a  mother  and  child  existed 
between  them. 

Contrary  to  his  usual  habit,  he  attended  a  dancing-party 
one  evening  at  the  urgent  and  repeated  entreaties  of  his 
friends,  and  during  the  evening  he  was  quite  attentive  to  a 
young  lady-friend  of  his  who  was  present,  and  with  whom 
he  was  on  terms  of  greater  intimacy  than  with  any  other 
in  the  company.  She  knew  his  shy,  retiring  disposition, 
and  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  assisting  him  to  make  the 
evening  a  pleasant  one ;  just  as  any  good-natured,  kindly 
girl  will  do  for  a  young  fellow  whom  she  likes,  and  who  she 
knows  is  ill  at  ease  and  uncomfortable. 

It  happened  that  Snow,  the  Bishop  of  the  ward  in  which 
the  Lewis  family  lived,  had  cast  his  patriarchal  eye  on  this 
young  girl,  and  designed  her  for  himself;  and  he  did  not 
relish  the  idea  of  seeing  another  person  pay  any  attention  to 
his  future  wife.  He  had  a  large  family  already,  but  he 
wished  to  add  to  it,  and  he  did  not  choose  to  be  interfered 
with. 

Lewis's  doom  was  sealed  at  once ;  the  bewitched  Bishop 
was  mad  with  jealous  rage,  and  he  had  only  to  give  a  hint 
of  his  feelings  to  some  of  his  chosen  followers,  who  were 
always  about,  and  the  sequel  was  sure.  He  denounced 
Lewis  in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  and  really  succeeded 
in  arousing  quite  a  strong  feeling  of  indignation  against  him 
for  his  presumption  in  daring  to  pay  even  the  slightest  atten- 
tion to  a  lady  who  was  destined  to  grace  a  Bishop's  harem. 


THE    SAN    PETE    OUTRAGE.  28 1 

The  closest  espionage  was  kept  upon  him  by  the  Bishop's 
band  of  ruffians,  and  one  evening  a  favorable  opportunity 
presented  itself;  he  was  waylaid,  and  the  Bishop's  sentence 
carried  out,  which  was  to  inflict  on  the  boy  an  injury  so 
brutal  and  barbarous  that  no  woman's  pen  may  write  the 
words  that  describe  it. 

He  lay  in  a  concealed  spot  for  twenty-four  hours,  weak 
and  ill,  and  unable  to  move.  Here  his  brother  found  him 
in  an  apparently  dying  state,  and  took  him  home  to  his 
poor,  distracted  mother,  who  nursed  him  with  a  breaking 
heart,  until  after  a  long  time,  when  he  partially  recovered. 

He  then  withdrew  himself  from  all  his  former  friends,  and 
even  refused  to  resume  his  place  at  the  table  with  the  family. 
He  became  a  victim  of  melancholia,  and  would  take  no 
notice  of  what  was  occurring  around  him.  He  staid  with 
his  mother  for  several  years,  when  he  suddenly  disap- 
peared, and  has  never  been  heard  of  since  ;  his  mother  and 
brother  made  every  effort  to  find  him,  but  they  could  not 
obtain  the  slightest  clew  to  his  whereabouts. 

Whether  this  victim  of  priestly  rule  is  dead  or  living  must 
for  ever  remain  a  mystery.  It  is  probable  that  the  emis- 
saries of  Bishop  Snow  have  put  an  end  to  his  existence. 
Yet  during  the  whole  of  this  affair  the  bishop  was  sustained 
by  Brigham  Young,  who  knew  all  about  it.  He  has  held 
his  sacred  office  as  securely  as  though  the  stain  of  human 
blood  was  not  on  his  conscience ;  he  has  been  sent  on  a 
mission  to  preach  "the  everlasting  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
the  poor  benighted  nations  of  Christendom,"  and  he  has 
also  taken  more  wives,  which  were  sealed  to  him  by 
Brigham  Young  in  the  Endowment  House. 

But  a  still  greater  marvel  is,  that  the  mother  of  Bishop 
Snow's  poor  victim  still  retains  her  faith  in  Mormonism,  and 
since  the  cruel  and  disgraceful  tragedy  which  deprived  her  of 
her  son,  has  been  sealed  to  Brigham  Young  as  one  of  his 
wives.  It  was  not  pity  that  moved  him  to  marry  her,  nor  a  de- 
sire to  comfort  her  and  lighten  her  burdens  ;  but  it  was  because 
he  saw  by  so  doing  that  he  could  advance  his  own  interests. 


282  A    MATRIMONIAL   WATER-COURSE  ! 

Mrs.  Lewis  is  never  mentioned  among  his  wives,  yet  he  was 
sealed  to  her  about  two  years  after  his  marriage  to  me. 
Brigham's  matrimonial  experiences  hardly  find  a  place  here, 
but  as  Mrs.  Lewis's  alliance  with  the  Prophet  came  about  in 
a  way  through  this  tragedy,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  even 
in  this  chapter  on  "  Blood-Atonement." 

San  Pete  was  filled  with  so  many  sad  memories  to  Mrs. 
Lewis,  after  the  terrible  fate  of  her  son,  that  she  could  not 
remain  there,  reminded  as  she  constantly  was  of  the  affair ; 
so  she  removed  to  Provo,  where  she  bought  herself  a  very 
pleasant  home,  and,  being  a  woman  of  considerable  wealth, 
was  living  very  comfortably,  when  Brigham  commenced 
building  a  factory  so  near  to  her  that  it  spoiled  the  beauty 
of  the  place  and  made  it  quite  unpleasant.  The  agents  then 
proposed  to  bring  the  water-course  through  her  front  yard  — 
an  arrangement  to  which  she  objected  most  emphatically. 
The  agents,  shocked  at  her  unwillingness  to  have  her  prop- 
erty spoiled  for  the  sake  of  Brother  Brigham's  factory, 
rushed  in  breathless  haste  to  the  Prophet,  and  told  him  of 
Mrs.  Lewis's  rebellion.  He  instantly  formed  a  plan  of  in- 
ducing her  to  surrender.  He  went  at  once  to  Provo,  and 
presented  himself  to  Mrs.  Lewis  with  an  offer  of  marriage, 
saying  at  the  same  time,  "  I  know  you  have  had  a  great 
deal  of  trouble,  Sister  Lewis ;  you  have  suffered  much  for 
the  sake  of  the  gospel,  and  I  pity  you.  I  desire  to  do  some- 
thing for  you ;  I  wish  in  some  way  to  comfort  you ;  so  I 
think  you  had  better  become  a  member  of  my  family." 

She  was  an  old  lady,  with  children  all  grown,  and  was 
perfectly  independent  of  them  or  any  one,  and  certainly  had 
no  need  to  marry  for  support.  As  the  Mormons  believe 
that  no  woman  can  enter  heaven  except  some  man  go 
through  the  ordinances  with  her,  very  many  are  sealed  in 
their  old  age  to  secure  salvation ;  but  as  her  husband  had 
been  a  good  Mormon,  and  they  had  attended  to  all  the  im- 
portant matters,  she  was  saved  without  prophetic  interven- 
tion. She  had  no  need  to  marry  for  a  husband  who  should 


THE    PROPHET    MAKES    LOVE    TO    THE    WIDOW.         283 

look  out  for  her  welfare,  as  her  children  were  ready  and 
willing  to  do  anything  she  needed  done  in  the  way  of  busi- 
ness. So  she  informed  Brother  Brigham  that  she  didn't  see 
why  she  should  marry  at  all. 

But  Brother  Brigham  assured  her  that  he  wanted  to  marry 
as  well  for  his  own  happiness  as  hers.  He  wanted  her 
always  near  him,  and  it  should  be  his  first  pleasure  and 
business  to  look  out  for  a  nice  place  of  residence  for  her, 
where  he  might  look  after  her  constantly.  In  fact  he  played 
the  devoted  and  anxious  lover  with  all  the  earnestness  of  a 
youth  who  is  wooing  his  first  innamorata,  and  in  a  fashion 
that  would  have  made  some  of  his  family  stare  had  they 
overheard  it. 

The  Prophet's  earnestness  was  not  without  effect,  and 
Mrs.  Lewis  took  her  lover's  proposal  into  serious  considera- 
tion, while  he  waited  anxiously  for  an  answer,  with  one  eye 
on  the  coveted  front  yard,  the  other  leering  at  the  widow, 
who  actually  concluded  to  accept  his  proposals,  and,  absurd 
as  it  may  seem,  became  one  of  his  wives. 

He  was  ashamed  of  himself  after  it  was  all  over,  and 
requested  his  bride  to  say  nothing  about  "  the  transaction 
between  them,"  as  it  was  better  that,  for  the  present  at 
least,  no  one  but  themselves  should  know  anything  about  it. 
"They  would  not  understand,  you  know,"  murmured  he  in 
his  most  drivellingly  sweet  accents.  The  trouble  was, 
"they  "would  understand  too  well,  especially  when  they 
saw  the  water-course  running  through  the  once  pretty  front 
yard  of  the  last  Mrs.  Young's  home. 

In  a  very  short  time  he  began  to  talk  about  his  farm-house, 
and  extolling  it  as  a  most  desirable  residence.  I  was  living 
there  at  the  time,  yet  he  said  "  it  was  plenty  large  enough 
for  two  families,  and  everything  was  arranged  with  such 
perfect  convenience ;  "  so  he  begged  that  she  would  move 
there  at  once.  He  grew  eloquent  over  the  beauties  of  the 
situation,  and  said,  "It  is  a  perfectly  splendid  place,  the 
9 nicest  farm-place  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  I  would  give  any- 


284  AN    OLD    GOOSE   AND    HER   FEATHER-BEDS  ! 

thing  if  my  duties  would  permit  me  to  live  there  ;  but  I  am 
kept  away  by  circumstances,  and  cannot  even  think  of  it  as 
a  permanent  residence,  ardently  as  I  long  to  do  so."  He  con- 
tinued, "You  can  raise  all  the  fowls  there  that  you  desire  ;  it 
is  a  beautiful  place  for  raising  ducks  and  geese,  and  you 
may  make  as  many  feather-beds  as  you  wish." 

What  greater  inducements  could  he  hold  out  to  her? 
Dear  to  every  old  housekeeper's  heart  are  her  plump,  soft, 
billowy  feather-beds.  We  moderns  are  stifled  by  them ; 
they  are  oppressive,  and  suggestive  of  dust ;  but  she  pats 
their  rotundity  with  loving  hands  ;  gives  them  many  punches 


BRIGHAM  WOOING  WIDOW  LEWIS. 

of  affection,  and  builds  a  structure  that  is  wonderful  to  be- 
hold—  in  which  she  hospitably  smothers  her  chance  visitor, 
and,  while  he  is  sweltering  in  its  embraces,  tells  him 
proudly  that  "  that  bed  is  live  geese  !  "  The  pride  of  Mrs. 
Lewis's  heart  was  her  feather-beds  —  she  wavered. 

Her  sons  were  very  reluctant  to  have  her  leave  her  own 
home,  and  expressed  themselves  quite  strongly  on  the  sub- 
ject when  she  mentioned  it  to  them  and  asked  their  advice. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  their  disapprobation,  she  concluded  to  go. 
Her  husband  was  also  her  Prophet,  and  it  might  be  that  he 
spoke  from  inspiration.  At  all  events,  she  would  give  heed 


TOO    BUSY   TO    SEE    HIS   NEW   WIFE  !  285 

to  his  words,  and  regard  his  wishes ;  else  what  punishment 
and  disgrace  might  she  not  bring  upon  herself?  So, 
deaf  to  her  children's  protestations,  —  who,  by  the  way,  did 
not  regard  the  call  to  the  farm  as  a  divine  bidding,  —  she 
removed  thither,  and  came  into  the  same  house  with  me. 
We  neither  of  us  liked  this  arrangement,  as  we  were  both 
firm  believers  in  the  theory  that  no  one  house  was  ever 
yet  built  large  enough  for  two  families.  Yet  we  knew 
that  it  would  not  be  wise  to  say  anything  to  Brigham ;  so 
we  were  as  quiet  as  we  could  be,  and  awaited  his  own  time 
for  our  separation,  Mrs.  Lewis  was  a  very  kind,  patient 
woman,  and  I  got  very  fond  of  her,  and  we  got  on  admira- 
bly together  in  our  forced  companionship,  and  managed  to 
live  together  until  my  house  in  the  city  was  finished,  which 
was  about  four  months  after  she  arrived  at  the  farm. 

She  said  that  she  told  Brother  Brigham,  most  decidedly, 
that  she  had  strong  objections  to  moving  into  a  house  with 
another  family,  and  he  told  me  that  he  was  intending  to 
have  me  go  to  the  city  immediately,  and  that  I  would  prob- 
ably be  gone  before  she  arrived  at  the  farm.  She  post- 
poned her  removal  for  some  weeks  after  that,  hoping 
that  I  would  have  gone  by  that  time,  and  the  coast  entirely 
clear.  She  found  on  her  arrival  that  Brigham  had  grossly 
misrepresented  affairs  at  the  farm.  Nothing  at  all  was  as 
he  had  described  it  to  her.  This  hoary  old  Claude  Mel- 
notte  deceived  his  ancient  Pauline  most  cruelly  in  the  vivid 
pictures  which  he  drew  of  the  elegance  of  her  future  resi- 
dence. 

She  made  it  her  first  business  to  visit  the  Prophet  and 
ask  for  some  repairs  to  be  made, — which,  by  the  way, 
were  sadly  needed, — but  he  declared  that  he  had  no  time 
to  attend  to  them  —  the  same  answer  that  he  had  made  to  my 
requests  ever  since  I  had  lived  there.  A  busier  man  than 
Brigham  Young,  when  he  wishes  to  be  particularly  en- 
gaged, was  never  seen,  I  believe ;  and  his  business  is 
always  the  most  pressing  when  any  of  his  wives  ask  him 
to  do  anything  for  their  comfort. 


286  HOW   BRIGHAM    CHEATED    THE    OLD    LADY. 

When  she  had  lived  at  the  farm  a  year,  she  told  me  that 
Brigham  had  never  been  to  see  her  once  during  all  that 
time ;  but  that  he  had  got  possession  of  her  property,  and 
was  using  it  for  factory  purposes.  The  water-course  ran 
through  her  yard,  her  house  was  made  an  office,  and  the 
whole  place  was  so  changed  and  so  entirely  spoiled  as  a 
residence,  that  she  never  could  go  there  again  to  live.  She 
must,  whether  she  would  or  not,  live  there  until  Brigham 
chose  to  move  her  somewhere  else,  or  until  her  children 
could  find  some  place  for  her  to  go  to.  She  supports  herself 
entirely,  independently  of  the  man  who  has  swindled  her 
out  of  her  home  and  her  property ;  and  the  only  assistance 
she  receives  is  from  her  children,  who  are  very  kind  to  her, 
annoyed  as  they  were  at  her  for  giving  up  her  home,  and, 
above  all,  allowing  it  to  fall  into  Brigham  Young's  hands. 
His  duck-and-goose  story  was  all  misrepresentation,  made 
use  of  merely  to  induce  her  to  go  to  the  farm ;  and  when 
she  got  there  she  very  soon  found  that  she  would  have 
those  lovely  feather  beds,  not,  at  least,  by  raising  the 
fowls  to  supply  the  feathers.  The  Prophet's  imagination 
had  evidently  run  away  with  memory  when  he  ardently 
painted  the  glories  of  the  farm  to  his  bride.  This  poor  old 
lady  was  made  a  tool  for  the  gratification  of  Brigham 
Young's  avarice,  as  her  son  had  been  the  victim  to  one  of 
his  followers'  jealous  anger.  She  has  little  to  love  Mor- 
monism  for.  Its  two  leading  doctrines,  the  "Celestial 
Marriage  "  and  "  Blood- Atonement,"  have  pretty  thoroughly 
shut  out  happiness  from  her  life,  and  rendered  her  in  her  old 
age  lonely  and  dependent. 

A  man  named  Thomas  Williams  came  early  to  Utah,  was 
a  good  Mormon,  and  embraced  polygamy.  He  was  a 
lawyer,  and  had  acquired  both  wealth  and  influence  in  his 
profession.  He  was,  however,  a  very  independent  man, 
and  a  man  of  very  decided  opinions.  He  had  differed  from 
Brigham  on  many  political  questions,  and  he  was  a  warm 
friend  and  staunch  adherent  of  Judge  Stiles,  who  had  drawn 


"  DAMN    MORMONISM,    AND   ALL    MORMONS  !  "  287 

upon  himself  the  displeasure  of  the  "  boys  "  by  his  just  and 
impartial  judgments.  Indeed,  Williams  had  his  office 
with  the  judge,  and  that  was  a  crime,  when  Judge  Stiles's 
standing  was  taken  into  consideration.  Williams  was  also 
in  possession  of  knowledge  concerning  some  murders  that 
had  taken  place,  had  spoken  very  openly  of  them,  and  was 
becoming  actually  dangerous  to  Brigham  and  the  other 
leaders,  —  so  dangerous  that  Brigham  went  to  his  parents 
and  complained  of  him  and  his  acts,  and  ended  by  saying, 
"  If  Tom  don't  behave  himself,  and  stop  making  me  trouble, 
I  must  have  him  attended  to." 

Soon  after  that  Williams  apostatized,  and  expressed  him- 
self very  openly  concerning  the  Mormon  church  and  its 
leaders,  although  he  knew  that  it  must  come  to  their  ears, 
and  that  they  would  try,  at  least,  to  punish  him  for  what 
they  would  consider  his  wickedness  and  profanity.  He 
seemed  to  have  lost  all  fear,  as  he  had  previously  lost  all 
belief  in  or  respect  for  them.  He  started  for  California 
soon  after  his  apostasy,  designing  to  stay  there,  and  to  send 
for  his  family  to  join  him,  so  soon  as  he  should  be  fairly 
settled.  He  was  waylaid  and  killed  by  the  "Indians"  on 
the  plains.  His  body  was  fearfully  mutilated,  and  left 
hanging  for  the  birds  of  prey.  It  was  very  well  known, 
however,  at  Salt  Lake,  that  the  "  Indians  "  engaged  in  this 
assassination  were  white,  and  that  Williams  was  murdered 
by  the  express  order  of  the  church  authorities,  who  knew 
that  he  would  prove  a  most  dangerous  enemy. 

His  fate  was  a  direct  contradiction  to  Brigham's  famous 
sermon  on  apostates,  preached  a  few  years  before.  Here 
is  what  he  says  about  "  independent  apostates." 

"When  a  man  comes  right  out  like  an  independent  devil, 
and  says,  '  Damn  Mormonism,  and  all  Mormons/  and  is  off 
with  himself  to  California,  I  say  he  is  a  gentleman,  by  the 
side  of  the  nasty,  sneaking  apostates,  who  are  opposed  to 
nothing  but  Christianity.  I  say  to  the  former,  'Go  in 
peace.' " 


288  THE    PROPHET   AND    HIS    BOWIE-KNIFE. 

Williams  was  certainly  independent  enough,  but  his  in- 
dependence did  not  save  him. 

In  this  same  sermon,  which  was  preached  particularly 
against  the  "  Gladdenites,"  as  the  followers  of  Gladden 
Bishop  were  called,  —  a  man  who  differed  from  Brigham  in 
certain  points  of  the  Mormon  belief,  and  who  would  not 
concede  that  he  (Young)  was  the  proper  successor  of  Jo- 
seph Smith,  —  he  said,  — 

"When  I  went  from  meeting  last  Sabbath,  my  ears  were 
saluted  by  an  apostate  preaching  in  the  streets  here.  I 
want  to  know  if  any  one  of  you  who  has  got  the  spirit  of 
Mormonism  in  you,  the  spirit  that  Joseph  and  Hyrum  had, 
or  that  we  have  here,  would  say,  'Let  us  hear  both  sides 
of  the  question.  Let  us  listen,  and  prove  all  things.5  What 
do  you  want  to  prove  ?  Do  you  want  to  prove  that  an  old 
apostate,  who  has  been  cut  off  from  the  church  thirteen 
times  for  lying,  is  anything  worthy  of  notice?  We  want 
such  men  to  go  to  California,  or  anywhere  they  choose.  I 
say  to  these  persons,  'You  must  not  court  persecution  here, 
lest  you  get  so  much  of  it  you  will  not  know  what  to  do 
with  it.  Do  NOT  court  persecution.  We  have  known 
Gladden  Bishop  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  know  him 
to  be  a  poor,  dirty  cuss.' 

"Now,  you  Gladdenites,  keep  your  tongues  still,  lest 
sudden  destruction  come  upon  you.  I  say,  rather  than  that 
apostates  should  flourish  here,  I  will  unsheathe  my  bowie- 
knife,  and  conquer  or  die.  Now,  you  nasty  apostates, 
clear  out,  or  judgment  will  be  laid  to  the  line  and  righteous- 
ness to  the  plummet.  If  you  say  it  is  all  right,  raise  your 
hands.  Let  us  call  upon  the  Lord  to  assist  us  in  this  and 
every  other  good  work." 

"I  will  unsheathe  my  bowie-knife,"  has  been  a  favorite 
threat  of  his,  and  it  has  been  unsheathed  hundreds  of 
times.  But  some  one  of  his  Danite  followers  is  called  upon 
to  use  it,  and  when  the  murders  are  laid  at  his  door,  he 


DROWNED    IN    THREE    INCHES    OF    WATER.  289 

stands  coolly  and  boldly  up,  and  his  lying  tongue  says,  I 
did  not  do  these  deeds. 

For  six  or  seven  years,  the  spirit  of  slaughter  seemed  to 
stalk  about  in  the  beautiful  Utah  valleys,  and  human  blood 
was  shed  on  the  slightest  provocation.  Did  one  man  bear 
a  grudge  against  another,  he  died  in  some  mysterious  man- 
ner, a  Mormon  court  of  investigation  could  never  discover 
how.  Was  a  man  obnoxious  to  any  of  the  church  officers, 
he  disappeared,  and  was  never  heard  of  again ;  or,  like 
John  V.  Long,  a  clerk  in  Brigham's  office,  who  was  the 
only  person  who  heard  the  conversation  between  Brigham 
and  the  messenger  sent  from  George  A.  Smith,  just  before 
the  Mountain  Meadow  massacre,  and  who  -wrote  out  the 
instructions  which  the  man  was  to  carry  back,  was  found 
dead  in  a  ditch,  "drowned"  in  three  inches  of 'water ',  "ac- 
cidentally," of  course,  since  that  was  the  decision  of  the 
Mormon  jury.  Did  a  man  suspect  his  wife  of  infidelity, 
either  she  or  her  suspected  lover,  or  both,  fell  a  victim  to 
his  fury.  Sometimes  the  suspicion  was  without  foundation, 
but  would  be  discovered  too  late,  as  in  the  case  of  the  hus- 
band who  murdered  a  Dr.  Vaughan  in  San  Pete  for  sup- 
posed intimacy  with  his  wife. 

The  man  was  an  enthusiastic  Mormon  ;  his  wife,  a  lovely 
woman,  whose  reputation  had  always  been  irreproachable. 
Dr.  Vaughan  was  a  friend  of  both,  until  the  husband  fan- 
cied that  he  was  too  fond  of  the  wife.  He  went  at  once 
to  Salt  Lake  City,  took  counsel  of  the  Prophet,  returned 
home,  and  shot  the  doctor  dead  as  he  was  leaving  church. 
He  found  out  afterwards  that  his  suspicion  was  unfounded, 
and  that  he  had  murdered  an  innocent  man,  who  had  never 
wronged  him,  even  in  thought.  He  was  haunted  by  re- 
morse until  his  death.  Yet  he  had  only  followed  the  teach- 
ings of  his  religious  leader. 

Such  were  the  results  of  the  teaching  of  the  Blood- 
Atonement  doctrine  in  Utah. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

TROUBLES    IN   OUR   OWN    FAMILY.  —  LOUISE   COMES 
UPON   THE   SCENE. 

Increase  of  Polygamy.  —  Marrying  going  on  Day  and  Night.  —  "  Taking 
a  Wife  and  Buying  a  Cow."  —  A  Faithful  Husband  in  a  Fix.  —  How 
Men  get  "  Married  on  the  Sly."  —  How  Wives  were  Driven  Crazy  by 
their  Wrongs.  —  My  Father  Marries  Considerably.  —  He  "  Goes  in  " 
for  the  Hand-Cart  Girls.  —  Marries  a  Couple  to  Begin  with.  —  Takes  a 
Third  the  same  Month.  —  Rapid  Increase  of  his  "Kingdom."  —  How 
the  Girls  Chose  Husbands.  —  Instructing  the  New  Wives  in  our  Fam- 
ily.—  Louise  doesn't  want  to  Work.  —  My  Father  goes  on  Mission 
Again.  —  Louise  Flirts  and  Rebels.  —  She  is  Scolded  and  Repents. — 
Goes  to  Bed  and  Weeps.  —  Bestows  her  Goods  on  the  Family.  — 
"  Lizzie  "  Interviews  Her.  —  She  Poisons  Herself.  —  Is  a  "  Long  Time 
Dying."  —  She  gets  a  Strong  Dose  of  Cayenne.  —  Is  sent  on  her 
Travels.  —  The  Last  we  Heard  of  Her. 


NOTHER  immediate  ef- 
fect of  the  "  Reformation  * 
was  to  increase  the  prac- 
tice of  polygamy.  To  alter 
an  old  rhyme  to  suit  the 
occasion,  — 

"Then   were    those    wed  who 

never  wed  before ; 
And  those  who  once  were  wed 
now  wed  the  more." 

Marrying  and  giving  in 
marriage  was  carried  on 
to  such  an  extent,  that,  as 
in  the  old  days  of  the  first 
"Endowments  "  in  Nauvoo 
Temple,  the  ceremony  of  sealing  was  literally  going  on 
day  and  night.  "The  man  who  refuses  to  enter  poly- 


ONLY  A  WIFE  OUT  OF  THE  WAY. 


NO    HEAVEN   WITHOUT    POLYGAMY.  291 

gamy  will  be  eternally  damned,"  announced  Brigham 
Young  from  the  Tabernacle.  "  Who  marries  out  of  the 
church  marries  for  hell,"  supplemented  Heber  C.  Kimball. 
Polygamy  was  preached  from  the  platform,  and  taught  by 
the  ward-teachers  in  private.  It  was  not  only  advised,  —  it 
was  commanded,  and  no  one  dared  of  disobeying  the  pro- 
phetic mandates. 

There  was  scarcely  a  family  in  the  Territory  at  that  time 
which  was  not  increased  by  a  plurality  of  wives.  Men 
married  in  the  most  reckless  fashion,  with  nothing  in  the 
world  on  which  to  support  their  families.  Girls  went  to  the 
Endowment  House  in  the  morning  to  take  their  Endow- 
ments, with  no  idea  of  marrying,  and  came  away  in  the 
afternoon  sealed  to  some  brother  whose  fancy  they  had 
taken,  or  who,  being  advised  by  Brigham  or  Heber  to  avail 
himself  of  his  "privileges,"  had  left  the  matter  in  apostolic 
hands,  and  submitted  to  everything,  even  to  the  choice  of  a 
wife. 

Wives  did  not  know  when  their  husbands  would  bring 
home  another  woman  to  share  their  home  and  their  hus- 
band ;  for  the  clause  in  the  "  Revelation  "  that  declared  that 
a  man  should  seek  his  wife's  consent  to  a  plural  marriage, 
and  that  she  should  herself  give  the  new  wife  to  her  hus- 
band, "  even  as  Sarah  gave  Hagar  to  Abraham,"  was  merely 
a  dead  letter,  and  was  not  minded  in  the  majority  of  cases. 
Indeed,  the  men  many  times  did  not  consider  it  at  all  neces- 
sary to  inform  the  wives  of  their  intentions,  and  the  poor 
women  would  know  nothing  of  the  new  marriage  until  the 
husband  brought  home  his  latest  acquisition,  or  until  she 
was  informed  of  it  by  some  outsider. 

Those  were  the  days  when  even  the  most  trusting  wives 
lost  faith  in  their  husbands ;  when  solemn,  oft-repeated 
promises  were  broken,  evidently  without  the  slightest  qualm 
of  conscience ;  when  the  tender,  watchful  affection  of  the 
husband  and  father  was  swallowed  up  in  mad  desire  of 


ONLY   A   WIFE 

possession  of  the  brute.  There  were  tragedies  enacted  then 
that  the  world  never  will  hear  of;  women  died  of  broken 
hearts,  and  their  sad  fates  brought  no  pang,  or  repentance, 
or  remorse  to  the  men  who  were  as  much  the  murderers  as 
though  they  had  deliberately  taken  tfreir  lives  with  the  knife, 
the  bullet,  or  the  poisoned  cup. 

cc  Only  a  wife  "  out  of  the  way  ;  and  what  did  that  matter  ? 
—  plenty  more  were  to  be  had  for  the  asking.  "  I  think  no 
more  of  taking  a  wife  than  I  do  of  buying  a  cow,"  was  one 
of  Heber  Kirhball's  delicate  remarks,  made  from  the  stand 
in  the  Tabernacle  to  a  congregation  of  several  thousand. 
Most  of  his  hearers  thought  even  less  of  it,  for  they  would 
have  had  to  pay  money  for  the  cow ;  and  as  for  the  other, 
he  had  only  to  throw  his  handkerchief  to  some  girl,  and  she 
would  pick  it  up  and  follow  him. 

All  the  finer  feelings  and  sensibilities  of  man's  nature 
were  killed  by  this  horrible  system.  He  regarded  women's 
suffering  with  utter  indifference ;  he  did  not  care  for  their 
affection;  their  tears  bored  him,  and  angered  rather  than 
touched  him.  He  lost  all  the  respect  and  chivalrous  regard 
which  he  once  had  for  the  sex,  and  spoke  of  his  wives  as 
"my  women,"  "my  heifers,"  or,  if  he,  a  Heber  Kimball, 
"  my  cows."  He  was  taught  that  they  were  his  inferiors, 
dependent  on  him  for  everything,  even  for  their  future  ex- 
istence, and  he  considered  that  it  was  sufficient  that  he  gave 
them  his  name  ;  the  rest  they  might  get  for  themselves.  He 
believed  that  the  Mormon  Church  was  to  bring  about  the  time 
"when  seven  women  shall  lay  hold  on  one  man,  begging  to 
be  allowed  to  be  called  by  his  name,"  and  should  promise  to 
eat  their  own  bread  and  wear  their  own  apparel.  The  latter 
they  have  been  not  merely  allowed  but  obliged  to  do  ever 
since  they  entered  the  system,  and  poor  and  scanty  have 
been  both  bread  and  apparel  in  the  majority  of  cases.  It 
makes,  in  short,  a  brute  of  what  might  be  a  man. 

I  know  a  first  wife  who  was  driven  to  such  utter  despera- 


HOPE    GONE   FOR   EVER  !  293 

tion  by  the  total  neglect  of  her  husband,  that  she  determined 
to  take  her  own  life,  since  it  had  grown  such  a  burden  that 
it  was  intolerable  to  bear. 

One  night,  in  the  dead  of  winter,  the  snow  falling  thick 
and  fast,  and  the  wind  sweeping  down  the  mountains  and 
through  the  canons,  cutting  to  the  very  bone,  as  only  a 
mountain  wind  can,  she  wrapped  a  tattered  shawl  about 
her,  and  rushed  madly  through  the  night  and  the  snow  to 
the  river,  intending  to  lay  down  her  life  and  her  miseries 


LIFE  A  BURDEN. 


together.  With  a  wild  prayer  for  mercy,  she  was  about  to 
throw  herself  into  the  water,  when  she  was  restrained  by  a 
strong,  imperative  hand,  and  her  husband's  voice,  hissing 
angrily  in  her  ear,  bade  her  go  home  and  not  make  a  fool 
of  herself. 

He  was  on  his  way  home,  or,  rather,  to  his  first  wife's 
house,  for  a  change  of  linen,  that  he  might  attend  his  second 
and  more  favored  wife  to  a  party,  when  he  caught  sight  of 
the  flying  figure,  and,  suspecting  her  intentions,  followed  her 
swiftly,  and  was  just  in  season  to  prevent  her  from  taking 
the  fatal  step. 


294 

He  had  no  word  of  sympathy  for  her ;  on  the  contrary, 
he  was  angered  at  what  he  called  her  obstinacy  "  and  de- 
termination to  make  a  fool  of  herself."  Her  anguish  of 
heart  brought  no  response  of  tenderness  from  him  ;  he  made 
her  return  home,  get  the  articles  of  apparel  which  he  wished, 
and  assist  him  in  his  preparations  for  taking  her  rival  out 
for  the  evening.  In  her  frenzy,  the  maternal  instinct  which 
is  so  strong  in  every  woman  utterly  failed  her,  and  she  went 
away  to  seek  the  death  she  coveted,  leaving  her  little  baby 
wailing  piteously  in  its  cradle. 

My  mother  had  a  friend  whose  husband  had,  for  a  long 
time,  withstood  the  desires  and  counsels  of  the  priesthood, 
and  had  incurred  their  marked  displeasure  by  neglecting 
for  so  long  to  "live  up  to  his  religion,"  and  "avail  himself 
of  his  privileges."  At  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  how- 
ever, he  did  not  dare  neglect  his  "-duty  "  any  longer,  and 
decided  to  take  a  second  wife.  Neither  did  he  dare  tell  his 
first  wife  of  his  determination,  for  he  knew  how  entirely  she 
loved  and  trusted  him,  and  he  knew,  too,  how  bitter  an 
opponent  she  always  had  been  to  polygamy.  He  knew  as 
well  how  many  times  he  had  assured  her  that  she  had  noth- 
ing to  fear ;  that  he  would  be  faithful  to  her,  as  he  had 
promised  to  be  in  the  old  days  when  he  married  her,  and 
before  God  had  vowed  to  "cleave  to  her  only  until  death 
should  them  part."  And  he  felt  how  bitter  would  be  her 
sorrow,  how  justly  indignant  her  feelings  towards  him,  how 
intense  her  anger,  and  he  did  not  dare  to  brave  it  all ;  so  he 
stole  quietly  away  to  the  Endowment  House  one  day,  leav- 
ing his  true  and  confiding  wife  ill  in  her  bed,  and  fresh  from 
her  sick  room,  took  the  blasphemous  vows  which  claimed 
to  bind  him  to  another  woman  for  time  and  for  eternity. 

The  first  wife  knew  nothing  of  what  had  transpired  until 
she  was  very  delicately  told  by  a  kind  neighbor,  who,  know- 
ing that  she  must  find  it  out  sooner  or  later,  thought  it  her 
duty  to  break  the  news  to  her  as  quietly  as  possible. 

She  was  almost  maddened  by  the  intelligence,  and  at  first 


295 

she  utterly  refused  to  believe  it.  It  could  not  be  possible  that 
the  husband  of  her  youth,  the  man  whom  she  had  so  loved 
and  trusted,  would  betray  her  thus  ;  would  take  advantage 
of  her  illness  to  skulk  away  and  take  another  wife,  and 
that,  too,  after  all  his  repeated  promises  to  her. 

"  It  can't  be  true,"  she  cried,  wringing  her  hands,  and 
growing  deadly  pale.  "It  isn't  true  !  I  can't  believe  it.  I 
won't  believe  it.  O  my  God,  help  me  if  it  is  true.  Tell  me 
that  it  isn't ;  that  you  are  mistaken." 

But  no  such  assurance  could  be  given  her,  and  her  friend 
tried  in  the  gentlest  manner  to  comfort  her ;  but  what  con- 
solation could  she  bring  that  would  heal  a  shattered  faith 
or  bind  up  a  broken  heart? 

This  story  has  had  many,  many  repetitions  since  then, 
until  now  it  has  got  to  be  "  an  old,  old  story  often  told." 

It  was  all  very  well  for  this  man  to  take  this  step  as  a 
religious  duty,  if  he  had  been  sincere.  But  would  he,  or 
would  any  true  man  who  believed  fully  that  he  was  obey- 
ing the  revealed  law  of  God,  and  doing  what  he  did  for 
conscience'  sake,  be  afraid  to  meet  any  oppositiqn,  from 
whatever  quarter  it  might  come  ?  Is  not  this  very  lack  of 
courage  a  tacit  acknowledgment  that  he  does  not  believe  in 
its  divinity  at  all,  and  that  conscience  stings,  rather  than 
approves  him  for  his  cowardly  act? 

Another  wife,  whose  husband  had  promised  her  as  faith- 
fully that  he  would  not  take  another  wife,  did  take  one  in 
the  same  way,  and  under  precisely  the  same  circumstances. 
On  hearing  the  news  she  became  a  raving  maniac,  and  died 
in  the  insane  hospital.  Still  another,  who  was  as  bitter  an 
opponent  of  the  system  of  "  Celestial  Marriage  "  as  either 
of  the  other  two,  was  one  day  invited  by  her  husband  to 
go  for  a  drive.  Touched  by  this  unusual  act  of  kindness,  — 
for  he  had  been  anything  but  kind  to  her,  since  he  could 
not  obtain  her  consent  to  his  taking  another  wife,  —  she 
quickly  made  herself  ready,  and  went  with  him.  He 
drove  her  to  the  insane  asylum,  and  left  her,  and  she  is 


2p  DISPOSING    OF    THE    HAND-CART    GIRLS. 

still  an  inmate  of  the  place,  although  she  is  as  sane  as  I 
am  at  this  moment. 

I  could  cite  hundreds  of  such  cases  that  occurred  during 
the  first  years  that  directly  followed  the  Reformation,  and 
that  have  multiplied  since,  until  the  recital  of  them  would 
fill  a  large  volume  ;  but  I  will,  instead,  tell  a  little  what  the 
*  Reformation,"  and  the  subsequent  "Celestial  Ordinance  " 
fever,  did  for  our  own  family. 

It  added  several  more  to  our  circle  in  a  very  short  time. 
My  father  was  counselled,  as  were  most  of  the  Mormon 
men,  to  take  some  of  the  w  Hand-Cart  girls,"  as  they  must 
be  provided  for  some  way.  My  mother  had  already  had 
her  burden  given  her  ;  and  after  she  had  been  obliged  to  see 
another  woman  taking  the  love  and  care  that  by  right  be- 
longed to  her,  and  her  alone,  she  grew  indifferent  on  the 
subject,  and  declared  that  a  few  wives,  more  or  less,  would 
make  little  difference  to  her  now,  and  she  would  be  as  well 
satisfied  with  one  fourth  of  a  husband  as  with  one  half. 
That  is  generally  the  way  first  wives  argue ;  if  there  is 
to  be  a  plurality  of  wives,  it  may  as  well  be  half  a  dozen 
as  one.  The  hurt  comes  with  the  first  plural  wife  ;  no  suf- 
fering can  ever  exceed  the  pain  she  feels  then. 

The  second  wife  was  made  ill,  however,  by  the  new 
arrangement ;  it  was  the  first  time  she  had  felt  the  hurt  of 
being  superseded  ;  but  she  bore  it  very  patiently,  and  made 
no  complaint.  After  she  recovered  from  her  illness,  she 
joined  my  mother  in  her  efforts  to  make  friends  with  the 
other  wives,  for  two  had  already  been  added  to  the  family, 
and  placed  under  the  same  roof  with  us. 

The  Hand-Cart  girls,  not  being  disposed  of  rapidly 
enough  to  satisfy  the  authorities,  they  urged  them  to  make 
proposals  to  the  brethren,  which,  by  the  way,  they  were 
not  at  all  backward  in  doing.  One  young  lady  selected 
"our"  husband,  to  use  my  mother's  expression;  and  to 
quote  from  her  description,  "  as  it  was  done  in  obedience  to 
counsel,  we  extended  our  arms  to  receive  her,  the  third  one 


297 

that  we  had  welcomed  within  the  month.  Our  'kingdom' 
was  increasing,  but  each  individual  share  of  husband  was 
growing  'small  by  degrees  and  beautifully  less.' " 

This  last  acquisition  proved  to  be  anything  but  an  agree- 
able one,  and  she  made  plenty  of  trouble  for  us  all.  When 
she  offered  herself  to  my  father,  after  having  been  coun- 
selled by  the  authorities  to  do  so,  he  received  her  proposi- 
tion somewhat  coolly  and  cautiously,  for,  to  tell  the  truth, 
he  would  much  have  preferred  to  make  his  own  selection, 
and  Louise  (for  that  was  her  name)  would,  most  emphati- 
cally, have  not  been  his  choice.  Yet  he  would  have  been 
openly  ridiculed,  and  held  up  to  derision  in  the  Tabernacle, 
had  he  ventured  to  refuse ;  so  there  was  nothing  to  do  but 
to  take  her,  and  make  the  best  of  it. 


THE  NEW  ADDITION. 


He  had  been  so  long  absent  that  his  affairs  were  by  no 
means  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  he  needed  all  the  as- 
sistance he  could  obtain  from  his  wives.  My  mother  and 
Elizabeth  were  both  hard-working  women,  and  as  hard  as 
they  had  labored  during  their  husband's  absence,  they  did 


298  LOUISE    FLIRTS    TOO    FREELY. 

not  relax  their  exertions  in  the  slightest  now  that  he  had 
returned.  My  mother  took  the  young  wives  at  once  under 
her  protection,  and  commenced  teaching  them  to  be  useful. 
The  two  first  ones  proved  very  nice  girls,  and  worked  with 
a  will,  showing  a  great  readiness  and  aptitude  at  learning, 
and  a  genuine  desire  to  do  their  part. 

But  the  "free-will  offering,"  as  Elizabeth  and  mother 
always  called  Louise,  did  not  love  work,  and  she  would 
not  do  it.  She  said  she  was  a  milliner,  and  had  once  been 
an  actress,  and  declined  "to  soil  her  hands  with  menial 
labor."  That  was  her  speech  in  refusing  to  assist  about 
the  household  work. 

There  was  some  little  friction  in  the  running  of  the 
household  machinery  on  account  of  this  ;  but  Mormon  wo- 
men are  expected  to  exercise  patience,  and  there  was  very 
little  fault  found  audibly,  although  it  was  quite  apparent 
that  the  new  wife  was  unhappy,  and  that  all  the  rest  were 
disgusted  with^  her  selfishness  and  indolence,  which 
amounted  to  laziness. 

My  father  was  appointed  to  another  mission  in  the  States, 
directly  after  he  was  married  to  Louise,  and  he  left  his 
entire  family  living  all  together  on  a  farm  about  seventy 
vniles  west  of  Salt  Lake  City. 

During  his  absence  Louise  made  herself  disagreeable  in 
every  possible  way.  It  actually  seemed  as  though  she  had 
made  up  her  mind  to  annoy  us  all  as  much  as  possible,  and 
that  she  tried  every  expedient  she  could  devise  to  accom- 
plish her  intentions. 

My  mother  was  particularly  annoyed  by  her  familiarity 
with  the  men  employed  on  the  farmland  remonstrated 
with  her  on  her  undignified  behavior.  She  was  very  im- 
pertinent, although  mother  had  spoken  to  her  in  the  kind- 
est possible  way,  and  informed  her  that  she  should  do  as 
she  pleased ;  that  she  was  my  father's  wife,  and  her  rights 
in  the  house  were  equal  to  any  other  person's. 

Fortunately,  my  father  remained  away  but  a  short  time, 


MALINGERING  !  299 

and  on  his  return  he  was  speedily  made  acquainted  with  the 
state  of  affairs.  He  disapproved  of  her  conduct  quite  as 
much  as  my  mother  had  done,  and  treated  her  with  such  a 
marked  coolness  that  she  demanded  the  cause.  He  told  her 
that  he  was  greatly  displeased  with  her,  annoyed  particularly 
at  her  lack  of  respect  for  herself,  him,  or  his  family,  and 
that  he  did  not  feel  at  all  like  acknowledging  her  as  his  wife 
unless  she  would  most  decidedly  behave  in  a  more  becoming 
and  dignified  manner. 

She  was  very  penitent,  and  promised  all  sorts  of  things  if 
he  would  only  allow  her  to  remain  in  his  family ;  she  went 
about  the  house  the  very  personification  of  grief  and  humil- 
ity, until  my  father  was  called  by  church  business  to  Salt 
Lake  City.  No  sooner  was  he  fairly  started  than  she  deter- 
mined to  create  a  sensation  in  the  family. 

She  shut  herself  up  in  her  room,  after  announcing  that 
she  wished  to  be  left  quiet  and  not  intruded  upon  by  any  one. 
However,  one  of  the  younger  wives  entered  her  room  on 
some  pretext  or  other,  and  found  Louise  in  bed. 

"  Are  you  ill?  "  she  inquired. 

"O,  no;  only  heart-broken  !"  was  the  reply,  in  the  mosf, 
doleful  tone  which  she  could  possibly  assume,  and  a  great 
display  of  grief  in  the  shape  of  a  pocket-handkerchief  which 
she  applied  to  her  eyes,  then  flourished  in  the  air,  and  then 
returned  to  her  eyes.  After  some  more  conversation,  Eliza 
came  out  with  a  pair  of  valuable  ear-rings  in  her  hand. 
Mother  asked  her  where  she  got  them. 

"Louise  gave  them  to  me,"  was  the  reply. 

w  Isn't  that  a  sudden  freak  of  generosity  ?  "  inquired  my 
mother. 

"She  says  she  shall  never  want  them  any  more,  and  she 
cried  when  she  said  it,"  was  the  answer. 

Louise  had  always  seemed  to  like  Eliza  better  than  she 
did  any  of  the  other  wives,  and  my  mother  at  once  fancied 
that  there  was  some  trickery  going  on,  and  that  Louise  was 
trying  to  win  Eliza  over  to  her.  I  was  a  little  curious  my- 


300         HOW  I  GOT  A  WATCH  AND  CHAIN. 

self,  as  girls  of  thirteen  are  very  apt  to  be  when  anything 
unusual  is  going  on  in  the  family  which  they  do  not  fully 
understand ;  so  I  determined  to  visit  Louise  myself,  and  see 
what  was  the  matter  with  her. 

She  was  very  pathetic  in  her  conversation  with  me,  and 
made  me  quite  miserable  by  the  recital  of  her  wrongs. 
Somehow  I  felt  as  though  I  was  personally  to  blame  for  all 
her  misery,  and  yet  I  didn't  see  how  that  could  be.  She 
gave  me  her  watch  and  chain,  which  I  had  always  admired 
and  coveted,  and  told  me  she  had  done  for  ever  with  such 
gewgaws.  I  was,  so  delighted  with  the  jewelry  that  I  quite 
neglected  to  be  properly  sympathetic,  and  rushed  off  to  show 
my  gift  to  my  mother,  and  tell  her  what  Louise  said. 

She  began  to  be  a  little  startled  by  this  new  development 
of  affairs,  and  asked  Lizzie,  the  third  wife,  to  go  up  to  her. 
Lizzie  was  not  a  great  favorite  with  Louise,  and  my  mother 
did  not  anticipate  that  she  would  receive  such  fine  presents, 
to  say  the  least.  She  came  back,  saying  that  Louise  said 
she  was  going  to  die,  and  then  she  wished  her  wardrobe 
divided  among  the  family.  She  also  wished  that  my  mother 
would  come  to  her.  She  at  first  felt  inclined  to  refuse,  but 
upon  consideration,  and  being  urged  by  the  different  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  she  went,  and  found  her  groaning  with 
pain,  real  or  pretended.  She  couldn't  tell  which  then. 

"What  is  the  trouble?  "  she  asked. 

"O,"said  Louise,  with  a  groan,"!  am  dying.  I  shall 
never  cause  any  more  trouble  in  your  family." 

"  It  is  not  right  for  you  to  talk  in  that  manner,"  replied  my 
mother;  "if  you  are  ill,  I  will  do  all  I  can  to  relieve  you." 

"  I  don't  want  anything  done ;  I  only  want  to  die :  my 
husband  does  not  love  me,  and  I  cannot  live ;  all  I  desire  is 
death,"  wailed  the  woman. 

"It  is  not  always  so  easy  to  die  when  we  desire,"  was  my 
mother's  somewhat  crisp  reply,  as  she  was  a  little  annoyed 
by  what  she  considered  Louise's  "  foolishness." 

"  But  I  have  made  sure,"  answered  she ;  "  I  have  taken 
poison." 


THE    HUSBAND       SETTLES        THE    MATTER.  30! 

"You  surely  cannot  be  so  wicked  as  that,"  was  mother's 
surprised  reply.  "  You  are  certainly  telling  me  a  falsehood." 

Louise  called  on  all  heaven  to  witness  the  truth  of  what 
she  had  said,  and  made  so  many  solemn  asseverations  to  the 
truth  of  her  having  poisoned  herself,  that  my  mother  began 
to  fear  that  she  had  really  done  so,  and  that  the  affair  was 
much  more  serious  than  she  had  supposed,  for  she  had  really 
no  idea  that  Louise  would  do  so  desperate  a  thing  as  that,  for 
she  seemed  altogether  too  fond  of  the  good  things  of  this  life 
to  relinquish  them  voluntarily.  We  had  all  considered  be- 
fore this  that  Louise  was  giving  us  a  taste  of  her  dramatic 
powers,  and  that  it  was  a  piece  of  very  poor  acting,  after  all. 
But  if  she  really  had  taken  her  life  into  her  own  hands, 
determined  to  throw  it  away  so  recklessly,  she  must  be 
looked  after  at  once. 

So  everything  that  could  be  thought  of  as  an  antidote  to 
poison  was  given  to  her ;  she  all  the  time  groaning  and 
screaming  with  pain.  There  was  no  physician  within  thirty 
miles,  and  our  nearest  neighbor  lived  five  miles  away.  My 
brother  was  summoned  from  the  hay-field,  where  he  was  at 
work,  and  sent  for  our  father.  There  was  not  a  horse  to  be 
had,  as  it  happened,  and  my  brother  started  on  foot  to  try 
and  overtake  father,  who  had  set  out  on  horseback  some 
hours  before.  He  would  necessarily  travel  very  slowly, 
however,  as  he  was  driving  cattle.  The  boy  had  to  climb 
high  mountains,  and  consequently  made  but  slow  progress; 
yet,  on  descending,  he  ran  as  fast  as  possible,  and  suc- 
ceede4  in  overtaking  his  father  when  about  fifteen  miles 
from  home.  He  was  perfectly  exhausted  by  his  efforts,  and 
fell  fainting  at  his  father's  feet,  after  he  had  managed  to  gasp 
out,  "Father,  Louise  has  poisoned  herself! " 

It  was  some  time  before  he  recovered  sufficiently  to  tell 
the  whole  story,  which  my  father  instantly  pronounced  a 
hoax.  "  However,"  he  said,  "  I  will  go  back  and  settle  the 
difficulty." 

During  all  the  time  that  elapsed  between  my  brother's 


302  IT'S   YOUJl   FAULT    I'M    NOT    DEAD  ! 

departure  and  his  return  with  his  father,  Louise  was  con- 
tinuing the  tragedy  in  a  way  that  was  calculated  to  frighten 
the  whole  family.  She  reached  out  her  hand  and  bade  us 
all  farewell,  at  the  same  time  exhorting  us  to  greater  piety. 
She  said  it  had  been  her  desire  to  do  right,  but  she  knew 
she  had  failed  in  her  most  earnest  endeavors ;  this  she 
regretted,  as  she  was  now  nearing  her  end,  and  had  no 
means  of  rectifying  her  past  wrong-doing.  Yet  she  wished 
to  die  in  peace  witri  all,  and  she  forgave  the  wrongs  she  had 
received  at  the  hands  of  some  members  of  the  family. 

After  talking  on  in  this  strain  for  some  time,  until,  indeed, 
she  had  exhausted  the  topic  and  could  find  no  more  to  say, 
she  tried  her  hand  at  acting  a  kind  of  stupor  ;  from  which  she 
soon  aroused,  however,  and  recommenced  her  exhortation, 
and  ended  by  informing  my  mother  that  she  had  never 
understood  her,  and  had  never  sufficiently  appreciated  her, 
and  that  she  would  rather  die  than  be  the  cause  of  con- 
tention. 

My  mother  at  last  was  beginning  to  understand  her  most 
thoroughly  now ;  and  losing  all  patience  with  her,  and  feel- 
ing very  indignant  at  her  shallow  attempt  at  deception,  which 
was  beginning  to  be  very  patent  to  us  all,  said,  — 

"  It  seems  to  me  you  are  a  long  time  dying,  Louise ;  I  feel 
quite  satisfied  that  you  are  deceiving  us  all,  and  as  I  do  not 
care  to  be  duped  any  longer,  we'll  call  the  farce  ended  —  for 
you  can't  make  a  tragedy  of  it,  try  hard  as  you  may." 

w  It  is  your  fault  that  I  am  not  dead,"  Louise  answered,  her 
eyes  flashing  suddenly,  and  a  great  deal  of  the  old-fashioned 
spirit  in  her  will ;  fr  if  you  hadn't  administered  an  antidote, 
against  my  will,  I  should  be  dead  now." 

We  none  of  us  could  restrain  a  smile  at  her  mention  of  the 
*  antidote,"  for  salt  and  water,  salt  and  vinegar,  and  mustard 
and  water,  were  the  only  medicines  we  had  given  her. 
With  these  very  simple  remedies,  —  none  of  which  had  the 
slightest  effect  on  the  patient,  —  my  mother's  "  medicine 
box"  was  exhausted,  and  there  was  nothing  else  which  she 
could  do,  except  to  abandon  the  case,  which  she  did. 


"  THERE'S  NOBODY  DEAD  !  "  303 

Her  friends,  the  hired  men,  came  in  at  night  anxiously 
inquiring  after  Louise.  We  were  all  totally  undeceived  by 
that  time,  and  one  of  the  wives  replied  to  their  questions, 
:fhdt  they  need  have  no  fears  about  her,  as  she  no  doubt 
would  outlive  all  the  rest  of  the  family ;  and  they  had  all 
decided  to  "  leave  her  for  Mr.  Webb  to  deal  with."  The 
men  thought  this  very  Heartless,  and  said  they  had  feared 
they  should  find  her  dead. 

My  mother,  who  had  overheard  the  last  remark,  replied, 
rather  sharply,  that  nothing  would  kill  her  unless  it  was 
the  mixture  she  had  administered,  for  she  was  positive  that 
she  had  taken  no  poison.  Her  object  had  been  to  frighten 
the  family,  and  she  had  succeeded  admirably.  She  had 
turned  the  house  topsy-turvy,  and  sent  Edward  off  on  a 
wild-goose  chase,  and  we  were  all  getting  quite  angry. 

About  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  my  father  returned. 
My  mother  met  him  at  the  door. 

"  There's  nobody  dead  !  "  was  her  greeting. 

fr  I  didn't  expect  there  was,"  he  replied,  passing  her  and 
entering  Louise's  room. 

"  What  are  you  in  bed  for?  "  was  his  inquiry. 

At  first  she  declined  to  reply  to  him,  but  on  his  repeating 
the  question,  and  insisting  on  an  answer,  she  told  the  same 
story  that  she  had  told  to  the  rest  of  us.  He  was  as  scep- 
tical regarding  the  truth  of  it.  as  the  rest  of  us  had  been, 
but  said  that  he  would  suggest  the  free  use  of  cayenne  pep- 
per, and  asked  my  mother  to  make  her  some  tea  of  it.  I  am 
afraid  there  was  a  little  malice  in  her  heart,  as  she  asked  if 
she  might  make  it  as  strong  as  she  liked. 

"Yes,"  he  replied;  "give  her  a  strong  dose.  She  shall 
have  enough  to  make  her  sick  of  her  nonsense." 

There  was  no  further  assurance  needed,  and  I  fancy 
there  never  was  a  stronger  decoction  mixed  than  the  one 
my  mother  prepared  for  the  impostor.  At  first  Louise  de- 
clared she  would  not  take  it ;  but  my  father  insisted  upon 
it,  telling  her  that  he  knew  nothing  better  for  people  who 


304  A    BIG    DOSE    OF    CAYENNE. 

had  poisoned  themselves,  and  she  was  compellecbwas  con- 
low  the  whole  of  it.  Xjgnten 

There  was  no  need,  after  that,  for  her  to  pretend  ilH6  us 
for  she  was  sick  enough  for  one  hour  to  thoroughly  frighie'r. 
her,  and  to  satisfy  the  rest  of  the  family,  who  felt  that  she 
deserved  just  the  punishment  she  was  getting  for  the  de- 
ception she  had  practiced,  and  the  fright  she  had  caused, 
which  was  genuine  for  a  while. 

My  mother  was  specially  angry  because  my  brother  was 
made  very  ill  by  his  long  run  after  his  father,  and  he  came 
very  near  losing  his  life  in  consequence.  After  Louise  had 
recovered  somewhat  from  the  paroxysms  of  pain  into  which 
she  had  been  thrown  by  the  cayenne  pepper,  my  father  had 
a  serious  talk  with  her,  and  told  her  that  she  must  no  longer 
consider  herself  a  member  of  his  family.  Her  conduct  had 
been  such  that  she  had  forfeited  all  right  to  consideration, 
and  he  would  not  have  such  a  woman  as  she  had  proved 
herself  to  be  in  the  house  with  his  wives  and  his  young 
daughter  ;  so  she  must  go  away  and  find  a  home  for  herself 
elsewhere. 

She  had  not  expected  this,  and  she  suddenly  changed 
her  tactics,  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  family 
in  any  capacity  whatever.  She  confessed  that  she  had 
been  trying  to  frighten  us  all,  and  that  she  had  taken  no 
poison,  but  had  got  up  the  scene  in  order  to  create  sympa- 
thy for  herself.  She  professed  great  sorrow  at  her  actions, 
and  again  pleaded  to  be  allowed  to  remain. 

But  my  father  was  inexorable  ;  and,  in  spite  of  tears,  en- 
treaties, and  protestations,  she  was  taken  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  we  none  of  us  ever  saw  her  again,  although  we  heard 
of  her  several  times.  She  married  again  in  a  very  short 
time,  and  in  three  weeks  was  divorced  from  her  second 
husband,  to  whom  she  had  been  sealed  "for  time  and  eter- 
nity." After  leaving  this  husband  of  three  weeks,  she 
went  to  the  southern  part  of  the  Territory,  and  married 
another  man,  whom  she  persuaded  to  take  her  to  St.  Louis. 


MONEY    AND    WIFE    GONE! 


305 


Her  frere  she  suddenly  went  away  one  day,  taking  her 
inquirucTs  money  and  leaving  him  behind.  When  next 
that  *[  jfrorh,  she  was  on  her  way  to  England.  Her  last  hus- 
•tf3iiid  made  no  attempt  to  follow  her,  but  returned  to  Utah 
without  either  money  or  wife,  yet  entirely  reconciled  to  the 
loss  of  one,  since  it  had  been  the  means  of  ridding  him  of 
the  other. 


A  SCENE  IN  POLYGAMY — "GREETING  THE  FAVORITE." 

Louise  was  the  only  one  of  all  my  father's  wives  who 
ever  made  the  least  trouble.  The  rest  of  them  were  good 
women,  doing  their  best  to  make  things  pleasant.  They 
did  not  like  a  polygamous  life,  and  only  endured  it  because 
they  thought  they  must.  They  were  not  happy  women,  — 
no  women  in  polygamy  are  happy,  however  loudly  they 
may  claim  to  be,  —  and  they  made  no  pretence  of  being. 
Neither  did  they  quarrel  with  each  other,  or  complain  of 
one  another  to  their  husband.  Whatever  difficulties  they 
might  have  they  settled  among  themselves,  and  did  not 
trouble  any  outsiders.  In  fact,  in  my  father's  family  the 
best  side  of  a  polygamous  life  was  shown,  but  the  best  side 
was  by  no  means  a  bright  one. 

This  episode  of  Louise  shows  the  absurdity  of  marrying 
without  previous  acquaintance,  and  also  the  miseries  that 
maybe  endured  by  other  wives  when  there   is  one  bad 
woman  in  their  midst. 
20 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


INCREASE   OF    POLYGAMY.  — MIXED-UP    CONDITION 
MATRIMONIAL  AFFAIRS. 


OF 


Christ  alleged  to  be  a  Polygamist.  —  The  Men  to  save  the  Women. — 
Making  "  Tabernacles  "  for  little  Spirits.  —  The  Story  of  certain  Ladies 
who  were  Deceived.  —  They  Discover  a  Mystery.  —  Their  Fate.  —  Or- 
son Hyde's  False  Prophecy.  —  Throwing  Mud  at  Apostates.  —  Death 
preferred  to  Polygamy.  —  Frightful  Intermarriages.  —  Married  his 
Mother-in-law.  —  A  Man  who  Married  his  Wife's  Grandmother, 
Mother,  and  All.  —  Marrying  a  Half-Sister.  —  Marrying  Nieces  and 
Sisters.  —  How  Emigrant  Girls  were  Married  Off.  —  Frightful  Story  of 
a  Poor  Young  Girl.  —  Polygamy  and  Madness.  —  One  Woman's  Love 
too  Little.  —  How  English  Girls  were  Deceived. —  How  Claude  Spen- 
ser committed  a  Damnable  Wrong.  —  A  Girl  who  was  Martyred  for  her 
Religion.  —  How  the  Bereaved  Husband  Acted.  —  A  Man  with  thirty- 
three  Children.  —  "  They  never  cost  him  a  Cent."  —  A  Many- Wived 
Saint.  —  Mixed-up  Condition  of  Marital  Affairs. 

HE  "  Reformation  "  was  pro- 
ductive of  nothing  but 
evil.  The  most  revolting 
and  blasphemous  doctrines 
were  taught,  and  between 
Blood-Atonement,  Massa- 
cres of  the  Gentiles,  and 
the  worst  phases  of  Polyga- 
mous Marriage,  there  was 
nothing  good  in  the  Terri- 
tory. The  whole  system 
of  Mormon  religion  was  a 
mass  of  revolting  crime 
and  wickedness.  Bigotry 
was  at  flood-tide,  and  fa- 
naticism ruled  reason.  The  very  thought  of  it  brings  a 
shudder.  The  most  horrible  things  were  taught  from  the 


THE    MEN    TO    SAVE    THE    WOMEN.  307 

pulpit,  and  decency  was  outraged  every  time  a   Mormon 
leader  opened  his  mouth  to  speak. 

They  were  all  maniacs  on  the  subject  of  Celestial  Mar- 
riage, and  the  lengths  to  which  they  carried  their  advocacy 
of  it  did  not  stop  with  mere  absurdities ;  it  became  the  most 
fearful  profanity.  There  was  not  a  pure  character  in  all 
the  Bible  history  which  their  dirty  hands  did  not  besmear, 
and  their  foul  tongues  blacken.  Not  content  with  bringing 
up  "Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,"  and  David  and  Sol- 
omon, as  their  examples  in  the  practice  of  polygamy,  Brig- 
ham  Young,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  delivered  during  the 
intensest  heat  of  the  excitement,  declared  that  "Jesus 
Christ  was  a  practical  polygamist ;  Mary  and  Martha,  the 
sisters  of  Lazarus,  were  his  plural  wives,  and  Mary  Mag- 
dalen was  another.  Also,  the  bridal  feast  at  Cana  of  Gal- 
ilee, where  Jesus  turned  the  water  into  wine,  was  on  the 
occasion  of  one  of  his  own  marriages. 

They  appealed  to  women  through  their  maternal  as  well 
as  through  their  religious  natures.  Not  only  did  they  teach 
them  that  they  could  never  be  saved  except  by  the  interven- 
tion of  some  man,  who  should  take  upon  himself  the  duty 
of  resurrecting  them  at  the  last  day,  but  they  were  also 
told  that  floating  through  space  were  thousands  of  infant 
spirits,  who  were  waiting  for  bodies ;  that  into  every  child 
that  was  born  one  of  these  spirits  entered,  and  was  thereby 
saved ;  but  if  they  had  no  bodies  given  them,  their  wails 
of  despair  would  ring  through  all  eternity ;  and  that  it  was, 
in  order  to  insure  their  future  happiness,  necessary  that  as 
many  of  them  as  possible  should  be  given  bodies  by  Mor- 
mon parents.  If  a  woman  refused  to  marry  into  poly- 
gamy, or,  being  married,  to  allow  her  husband  to  take 
other  wives,  these  spirits  would  rise  up  in  judgment  against 
her,  because  she  had,  by  her  act,  kept  them  in  darkness. 

No  one  dared  to  neglect  the  counsel  of  the  priesthood. 
Whoever  ventured  to  do  so  was  charged  at  once  with  apos- 
tasy. Men  and  women  alike  were  ruled  by  the  arbitrary 


308       MAKING    "  TABERNACLES  "    FOR    LITTLE    SPIRITS. 

will  of  one  man.  There  is  no  despotic  monarchy  in  the 
world  where  the  word  of  the  sovereign  is  so  absolute  as  in 
Utah.  And  never,  in  the  whole  history  of  Monnonism, 
has  the  despotic  rule  been  so  arbitrary  as  it  was  during 
the  period  of,  and  for  a  short  time  after,  the  Reformation. 

It  was  a  terribly  trying  time  for  women  —  a  time  that 
they  have  never  forgotten.  More  misery  was  crowded  into 
a  few  months  than  they  had  endured  before  in  a  lifetime, 
and  the  misery  that  began  then  will  be  life-long.  •  No  one 
outside  of  Utah  and  Mormonism  can  understand  it  in  the 
least,  because  nowhere  else  is  there  a  possibility  of  such 
wretchedness  to  exist.  Only  women  living  in  a  polyga- 
mous community,  under  the  rule  of  a  religion  whose  funda- 
mental principle  is  the  plural-wife  system,  can  fully  take  in 
the  utter  helplessness  and  hopelessness  of  the  situation —  a 
situation  from  which  escape,  at  that  time  at  least,  was  next 
to  impossible. 

If  they  did  escape,  the  tongue  of  calumny  pursued  them 
relentlessly,  and  the  vilest  reports  that  the  tongues  and 
hearts  of  vile  men  could  devise  were  spread  concerning 
them. 

In  1856,  during  the  Reformation,  and  when  converts 
were  pouring  into  Zion  almost  from  every  quarter  of  the 
earth,  were  several  lovely  and  refined  ladies,  who  had  been 
drawn  thither  by  the  seeming  earnestness  and  deep  reli- 
gious fervor  of  the  Mormon  people  whom  they  had  seen. 
Especial  pains  had  been  taken  to  bring  these  ladies  into  the 
church,  for  they  were  a  much  finer  type  of  women  than  are 
generally  found  among  the  later  converts,  and  nothing  was 
ever  told  them  of  the  existence  of  the  plurality  system. 
Among  the  converts  were  a  Miss  Potter,  Mrs.  Brownhead 
and  three  daughters,  and  Miss  Stayner,  who  were  filled 
with  enthusiasm  concerning  their  new  faith,  and  came  to 
Zion  most  zealous  Saints. 

But  when,  on  their  arrival,  they  discovered  that  poly- 
gamy was  in  open  practice,  they  were  distressed  beyond 


ORSON  HYDE'S  LYING  PROPHECY.  309 

measure,  and  sought  immediate  refuge  in  the  military  camp. 
They  were  women,  all  of  them,  of  fine  social  standing,  and 
had  left  happy  and  luxurious  homes  to  come  to  Zion,  im- 
pelled by  a  sense  of  religious  duty.  The  beastly  god 
which  the  Mormons  so  devoutly  worshipped  had  never  been 
even  alluded  to  in  their  presence. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  their  flight  enkindled  Mormon 
wrath,  and  for  a  while  it  burned  fiercely.  They  heaped 
every  term  of  opprobrium  upon  them  that  they  could  think 
of,  and  defamed  them  in  every  possible  way.  There  was 
nothing  too  gross  or  too  indecent  for  them  to  say  concerning 
them ;  and  in  addition  to  this  wholesale  defamation  of  their 
characters,  they  were  properly  cursed,  according  to  the 
Mormon  liturgy,  and  all  manner  of  evil  was  prophesied 
concerning  them.  Orson  Hyde  was  inspired  one  Sunday, 
in  the  Tabernacle,  to  foretell  their  fate,  and  he  prophesied 
that  they  would  perish  miserably  on  the  way  to  California, 
where  they  had  gone  under  the  protection  of  Colonel  Step- 
toe  and  his  command.  It  was,  no  doubt,  a  great  disappoint- 
ment to  the  Apostle  that,  in  spite  of  his  prophecies,  they 
arrived  safely  in  California,  were  married  to  men  of  wealth 
and  position,  and  are  now  happy  wives  and  mothers,  with 
no  thought  of  Mormondom  to  mar  their  happiness,  except 
an  occasional  burst  of  thankful  feeling  that  they  succeeded 
in  escaping  from  it.  It  may  be  a  satisfaction  for  my  read- 
ers to  know  —  it  is  certainly  for  me  to  tell  —  that  he  not  only 
proved  a  false  prophet,  but  was  publicly  punished  by  one 
of  the  officers  for  the  scandalous  reports  he  had  put  in 
circulation  regarding  these  ladies. 

Calumny  and  scandal  are  among  the  readiest  of  the 
Mormon  weapons,  and  its  leaders  are  specially  skilled  in 
their  use,  as  every  person  who  has  ever  thwarted  Brigham 
Young,  or  one  of  his  satellites,  knows  to  his  or  her  sorrow. 
They  not  only  lie  themselves,  but  they  hire  others  to  do  it 
for  them.  Occasionally,  in  this  game  of  mud-throwing, 
they  get  bespattered,  but  not  until  they  have  bedaubed  their 


310  MARRIED    HIS    OWN    SISTER  ! 

victim  very  thoroughly.  It  is  no  wonder  that  suicides  have 
been  so  common  among  the  Mormon  women  :  if  they  left 
"Zion,"  it  must  be  at  the  sacrifice  either  of  life  or  repu- 
tation, and  in  the  hopeless  apathetic  state  into  which  they 
were  sunk,  it  was  easier  to  die  than  to  struggle. 

One  woman,  who  arrived  from  England  during  the  "  Ref- 
ormation," and  who  was  to  be  rushed  into  polygamy,  actually 
killed  herself  rather  than  become  a  plural  wife  :  she  had 
been  given  to  a  Mr.  Goodsall,  and  was  living  in  his  family, 
awaiting  the  time  when  she  was  to  be  sealed ;  and  one 
morning,  but  a  few  days  before  the  time  appointed  for  the 
ceremony,  she  was  found  with  her  throat  cut,  a  razor  lying 
by  her  side.  She  saw  nothing  but  wretchedness  before 
her,  and  put  an  end  to  her  life  rather  than  follow  priestly 
"  counsels."  It  was  better  so  than  to  face  the  misery  life 
would  bring. 

Even  the  laws  of  consanguinity  were  not  respected  at 
that  terrible  time,  and  relatives  intermarried  in  a  manner 
that  would  shock  even  the  most  lax-moralled  community. 
Uncles  and  nieces  were  married  ;  one  man  would  marry  sev- 
eral sisters ;  and  it  was  a  very  common  thing  for  a  mother 
and  daughter  to  have  the  same  husband.  In  one  family, 
at  least  three  generations  were  represented  among  the 
wives  —  grandmother,  mother,  and  daughter ;  and  a  case 
actually  occurred  in  Salt  Lake  City  where  a  man  married 
his  half  sister,  and  that,  too,  with  the  full  knowledge  and 
approval  of  Brigham  Young.  The  man  stood  high  in  the 
Mormon  Church,  and  George  D.  Watt  was  quoted  all 
through  the  Territory  as  a  good  Saint.  He  certainly 
availed  himself  of  his  privileges  to  the  fullest  extent.  He 
has  since  apostatized. 

Bishop  Smith,  of  Brigham  City,  married  two  of  his  own 
nieces.  Bishop  Johnson,  of  Springville,  outdid  his  brother 
bishop,  and  married  six.  The  first  one  was  the  daughter 
of  an  elder  brother ;  the  other  five  were  sisters,  and  daugh- 
ters of  Lorenzo  Johnson.  He  first  married  the  eldest  one, 


HOW    PATRIARCH    BROWER    WENT    A-COURTING  !        31 1 

Mary,  who  was  only  fifteen  at  the  time ;  then  he  asked  that 
all  the  others  might  be  given  to  him,  to  be  sealed  to  him 
when  they  should  grow  up.  The  youngest  one  was  only 
two  years  old  at  the  time  that  her  father  promised  her  to 
her  uncle,  and  she  was  only  about  thirteen  when  she  was 
sealed  to  him. 

All  this  is  sanctioned  by  the  President ;  else,  of  course,  it 
would  not  occur ;  and  he  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  he 
sees  no  reason  why  persons  who  are  nearly  related  should 
not  marry  ;  they  certainly  ought  to  think  more  of  each  other 
than  of  strangers  ;  and  all  that  he  can  see  that  stands  in  the 
way  of  such  marriages  being  of  very  frequent  occurrence 
is  popular  prejudice.  He  has  said  that  he,  as  far  as  he  is 
personally  concerned,  would  not  enter  upon  such  a  rela- 
tionship, but  prejudice  alone,  and  not  principle,  would  re- 
strain him. 

There  are  very  many  families  where  two  or  more  sisters 
are  plural  wives  to  one  man.  This  is  the  case  in  Brigham's 
own  family.  Among  his,  first  plural  Wives  were  -Clara 
Decker  and  Lucy  Decker ;  and  two  of  his  daughters, 
Luna  and  Fanny,  are  the  wives  of  George  Thatcher; 
two,  Mary  and  Caroline,  were  married  to  Mark  Croxall, 
and  two,  Alice  and  Emily,  to  Hiram  Clawson. 

Among  the  early  emigrants  were  two  Scotch  girls,  sis- 
ters, named  McDonald.  They  had  been  but  a  few  days  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  when  a  Mr.  Uriah  Brower,  a  would-be 
patriarch,  presented  himself  before  them  with  an  offer  of 
marriage.  One  of  the  girls  favored  the  suit,  but  the  other 
was  more  capricious,  and  not  so  easily  suited  with  the  pros- 
pect of  a  polygamous  life.  She  hated  the  man  for  pro- 
posing marriage,  herself  for  being  an  object  of  his  patri- 
archal passion,  and  was  annoyed  at  her  sister  for  her  willing^ 
ness  to  accept  him.  She  had  yet  to  learn  that  women,  are 
by  no  means  free  agents  in  Utah,  and  have  very  little  voice 
in  the  settlement  of  their  own  affairs ;  their  destinies 
are  in  their  own  hands,  but  are  entirely  at:  the  mercy  of 


312  STORY    OF   A   DESOLATE    WOMAN. 

some    man's    caprice,   or    the    commands   of    the    priest- 
hood. 

Her  lover  was  determined ;  and  seeing  that  it  was  abso- 
lutely of  no  use  for  her  to  go  on  saying  "  No,"  since  she 
must  succumb,  sooner  or  later,  she  gave  an  indifferent  con- 
sent, and  was  sealed  to  him  at  the  same  time  with  her 
sister.  She  was  miserably  unhappy,  and  the  very  next  day 
she  applied  for  a  divorce  from  him,  saying  she  could  not, 
and  would  not,  remain  his  wife.  She  obtained  the  divorce  ; 
but,  having  no  parents  and  no  home,  she  was  forced  to  live 
wherever  she  could,  and  she  found  existence  anything  but 
an  easy  or  pleasant  task.  In  a  short  time  another  good 
brother,  seeking  to  enlarge  his  kingdom,  offered  to  take 
her ;  and  she,  poor  girl !  not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  and 
almost  desperate  in  her  loneliness  and  desolation,  consented 
to  marry  a  second  time  in  polygamy. 

Her  new  husband  already  had  three  wives,  and  she  was 
placed  in  the  same  house  with  them.  Her  situation  then  was 
worse  than  even  before.  Being  the  last  comer,  all  the  rest 
turned  against  her,  and  she  had  to  endure  the  hatred  of 
them  all.  She  was  ill-treated  in  every  way,  but  for  a  long 
time  bore  all  the  wrongs  which  were  inflicted  upon  her  in 
silence.  After  the  birth  of  her  child,  she  determined  to 
leave  at  all  hazards ;  so  again  applying  for  a  divorce  from 
her  second  husband,  which  was  as  easily  obtained  as  her 
first  one  had  been,  she  took  her  child  and  went  away  to 
earn  a  living  for  herself  and  him.  She  went  out  to  ser- 
vice ;  she  did  washing  and  cleaning ;  indeed,  she  left  no 
stone  unturned  to  obtain  an  honest  livelihood,  and  bring  up 
her  child  properly. 

After  a  time  her  first  husband  presented  himself,  and  told 
her  that  as  he  had  married  her  "  for  time  and  for  eternity," 
he  should  hold  her  to  the  first  marriage  contract ;  that  he 
could  do  so,  since  her  second  husband  was  no  higher  in 
the  priesthood  than  he.  He  insisted  on  her  returning  to 
him  ;  and  the  poor  woman,  seeing  -no  way  of  escape,  wras 


INSANE  ! 


313 


sealed  again  to  him,  and  was  taken  to  his  home,  a  misera^ 
ble,  comfortless  place,  where  he  had  five  wives  already 
living  in  poverty  anpl  the  most  terrible  degradation.  Hud* 
died  together  like  so  many  animals,  they  respected  neither 
the  laws  of  decency  nor  morality.  Hannah  was  there  but 
a  short  time  before  she  became  hopelessly  insane.  She  is 
living  still,  but  the  light  of  reason  has  gone  out  for  ever, 
quenched  by  the  horrors  of  a  system  which  she  always 


THE  HAPPY  HOME  OF  A  POLVGAMIST. 

loathed.  Her  sister,  Margaret,  still  drags  on  a  miserable, 
hopeless  existence,  not  much  better  off  than  the  poor,  un- 
fortunate maniac.  She  is  a  moral  and  physical  wreck,  and 
owes  her  depraved  condition  to  the  cause  that  made  her 
sister  a  mental  ruin. 

Life  opened  brightly  enough  for  these  girls  in  their  home 
among  the  Scottish  hills,  but  the  curse  of  Mormonism 
found  them  out,  and  then  there  was  nothing  but  wretch^ 
edness  and  despair  for  them. 

Incidents  like  these  have  multiplied  from  the  beginning 


314         CLAUDE    SPENCER   DOES    THE    DEVIL'S    WORK. 

until  now ;  and  yet,  in  the  face  of  all  this  misery,  the  world 
is  assured  that  Mormon  women  are  comfortable  and  con- 
tent ;  that  they  find  no  fault  with  polygamy ;  indeed,  that 
they  prefer  the  system  rather  than  dislike  it ;  and  the  world, 
against  all  reason  and  common  sense,  believes  what  it  is 
told. 

Elder  Orson  Spencer,  now  dead,  one  of  the  strong  pil- 
lars of  Mormonism,  whose  letters  and  theological  works 
are  much  quoted  among  the  Saints,  while  on  his  first  mis- 
sion to  England  became  the  guest  of  a  gentleman  of  con- 
siderable property  and  good  social  position,  and  the  father 
of  two  interesting  daughters,  both  of  whom  were  recent 
converts  to  the  Mormon  faith.  The  young  ladies  were 
finely  educated,  possessed  of  more  than  ordinary  tal- 
ents, and  had  always  been  tenderly  attached  to  each 
other. 

When  the  young  missionary  from  Zion  became  an  in- 
mate of  their  father's  house,  they,  with  all  the  zeal  of  new 
and  enthusiastic  converts,  vied  with  each  other  in  showing 
him  every  hospitable  attention,  for  the  sake  of  the  glorious 
gospel  which  they  supposed  he  came  to  preach,  and  before 
very  long  the  elder  of  the  sisters  found  herself  becoming 
deeply  interested  in  him  for  his  own  sake. 

The  interest  was  apparently  mutual ;  it  ripened  into 
love.  Mr.  Spencer  made  a  formal  proposal  to  the  father 
for  the  daughter's  hand,  and  very  soon  after  the  lovers 
were  married.  The  young  wife  was  perfectly  happy  ;  she 
was  devoted  to  her  husband,  and  it  seemed  to  her  that  life 
could  hereafter  hold  nothing  but  happiness  for  her,  she 
rested  so  securely  in  her  husband's  love,  that  his  care 
would  compass  her  about,  and  his  strength  sustain  her,  all 
through  her  days.  She  was  living  her  first  romance,  and 
sweet  enough  she  found  it.  Ah,  if  the  hard  reality  had  not 
been  so  soon  to  follow  it !  But  Mormon  marriage  soon  kills 
all  the  romance  of  a  woman's  nature,  and  either  kills  her 
at  the  same  time,  or  leaves  her  hopeless,  apathetic,  her  finer 


MAKING    LOVE    TO   A    SISTER-IN-LAW.  315 

nature  crushed  within  her,  bearing  life  because  she  must, 
and  not  because  it  holds  anything  for  her  of  love,  or  care, 
or  sweet  tenderness  of  any  kind.  It  is  oftener  this  way 
than  the  other ;  alas,  for  the  poor  victims  that  such  is  the 
case  ! 

Mr.  Spencer  had  lived  among  a  people  who  teach  and 
practice  the  doctrine  of  a  plurality  of  wives.  His  own 
father  had  brought  home  eight  brides  to  grace  his  domestic 
circle,  four  of  them  in  one  day.  The  high-priest  of  his 
religion,  the  man  to  whom  he  had  always  listened  as  the 
mouthpiece  of  God,  not  only  preached  that  it  was  the 
privilege  and  duty  of  every  Saint  to  wed  many  wives,  but 
practiced  what  he  preached. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  disciple  believed  he  should  be 
living  beneath  his  privileges  if  he  contented  himself  with 
the  love  of  one  woman.  His  sister-in-law  was  a  remarka~ 
bly  pretty  girl,  and  fervent  in  her  devotion  to  the  new  faith 
she  had  espoused.  In  time,  perhaps,  if  caution  was  exer- 
cised in  the  manner  pf  teaching,  she  might  be  won  to  a 
cordial  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  plural  marriage  —  a  doc^ 
trine  which  the  missionary  Saints,  with  damnable  wisdomr 
had  not  proclaimed  openly  in  England  at  that  date. 

This  young  brother,  imitating  the  prudent  course  of  his 
colleagues,  preached  only  those  truths  which  he  thought 
would  be  received  most  readily.  Such  portions  of  the  gos- 
pel as  might  be  considered  hard  doctrine  by  the  new  con- 
verts he  left  to  be  learned  by  them  after  their  arrival  in 
Zion.  His  growing  admiration  for  his  charming  sister-in- 
law  he  kept  to  himself;  but  when  the  time  arrived  for  his 
return  home  with  his  wife,  he  had  succeeded  in  making  ar- 
rangements for  her  sister  to  accompany  them.  In  the  mean 
time,  however,  another  young  lady,  also  a  new  convert, 
had  attracted  his  favorable  notice,  and  as  she  was  to  form 
one  of  a  large  company  who  were  about  to  start  for  Amer- 
ica, he  kindly,  and  disinterestedly,  of  course,  offered  to 
take  her  under  his  own  care. 


3l6  DEATH    TO    THE    SOUL  ! 

During  the  voyage  across  the  ocean,  and  the  hurried 
journey  through  the  States,  nothing  worthy  of  note  oc- 
curred. True,  Mr.  Spencer  was  very  attentive  to  the  young 
ladies  who  were  travelling  under  his  protection ;  but  his 
young  wife  loved  him  too  well,  and  believed  in  him  too  im- 
plicitly, to  have  any  thought  that  he  was  actuated  by  other 
motives  than  brotherly  affection  and  Christian  kindness. 
At  the  Missouri  River,  where  the  emigrants  took  leave  of 
civilization,  and  commenced  their  long  journey  over  the 
plains,  the  members  of  the  little  party  were  thrown  more 
closely  together  than  before  ;  and  now  even  the  all-confiding 
wife  could  not  fail  to  see  that  her  husband  demeaned  him- 
self as  a  lover  towards  the  two  girls,  —  her  sister  and  her 
friend,  —  and  that  they  by  no  means  discouraged  his  at- 
tentions. 

Her  reproachful  questioning  regarding  his  conduct 
brought  out  an  explanation  of  the  doctrines  of  plurality,  and 
an  avowal  of  his  intention  to  marry  the  girls  as  soon  as  they 
reached  Salt  Lake.  He  said  that  they  had  both  embraced 
the  great  truths  of  their  religion  fully,  and  were  willing  and 
anxious  to  be  sealed  to  him  as  their  savior  for  time  and 
eternity.  The  poor  wife,  with  all  her  faith  in  her  husband, 
her  sister,  and  her  religion,  shattered  at  one  blow,  — but, 
alas  for  her,  with  a  heart  throbbing  with  a  love  that  could 
not  die,  —  never  rallied  from  the  shock  she  received  when 
her  doom  was  thus  pronounced  by  the  lips  of  the  one 
dearest  to  her. 

Day  after  day,  as  they  continued  their  toilsome  journey, 
her  strength  declined,  and  it  was  evident,  even  to  the  eyes 
of  strangers,  that  she  was  dying.  Her  husband,  however, 
saw  nothing,  was  troubled  with  no  anxieties.  He  was  too 
much  absorbed  in  his  love  for  the  two  girls,  whose  souls 
he  proposed  to  save,  to  have  any  time  or  thought  to  spare 
for  his  dying  wife.  The  days  lengthened  into  weeks,  and 
still  the  lamp  of  life  burned  lower,  while  the  love  that  had 
outlived  faith  and  hope  was  yet  strong  enough  to  torture 


LAST    HOURS    OF   A   DYING    WIFE.  317 

her  with  vain  longings  to  hear  again  the  tender  words  that 
were  never  spoken  now,  and  to  lean,  in  her  mortal  weak- 
ness, on  the  arm  that  she,  so  short  a  time  ago,  had  fondly 
hoped  would  be  her  support,  even  down  to  the  brink  of 
death.  It  is  easy  to  say  of  love  unworthily  bestowed,  — 

"  I  would  pluck  it  from  my  bosom, 
Though  my  heart  were  at  the  root ;  " 

but  many  a  wronged  and  forsaken  wife  could  tell  you  that 
these  are  only  idle  words. 


BROKEN-HEARTED. 


Many  may  wonder  if  the  dying  girl's  sister  had  no  com- 
punction, no  remorse  for  the  part  she  was  playing  in  this 
tragedy.  None ;  for  so  completely  was  she  carried  away 
by  the  fanaticism  with  which  she  had  been  inspired,  that  she 
actually  believed  she  was  doing  God  service  in  trampling 
on  the  holiest  feelings  of  her  own  nature,  and  inflicting 
upon  her  sister  the  most  cruel  wrong  that  one  woman  can 
suffer  at  the  hands  of  another. 

The  weary  journey  was  ended  at  length,  and  the  wan- 
derers reached  the  Valley  which  was  henceforth  to  be  their 


318  AN  "ARISTOCRAT."  —  OH! 

home.  The  wife  lived  only  just  to  enter  the  city,  of  which 
she  once  fondly  dreamed  as  a  heaven  upon  earth.  From 
the  Zion  of  her  earthly  hopes  she  passed  on  to  the  true  Zion, 
where  the  mercy  and  love  of  a  God  kinder  than  the  one 
she  had  been  taught  to  worship  healed  every  earth-wound, 
and  brought  infinite  peace  to  the  broken  heart. 

Just  two  weeks  from  the  day  of  her  death  there  was  a 
double  bridal  in  Salt  Lake  City.  The  bereaved  and  sor- 
rowing husband  was  united  in  marriage  to  the  equally 
afflicted  sister  and  her  friend,  the  young  lady  who  accom- 
panied them  from  England.  I  have  often  wondered  if  there 
was  a  ghost  present  at  that  bridal,  and  if  the  white,  dead 
face  of  the  wronged  and  murdered  wife  did  not  look  in  sad 
reproach  at  them  all  as  they  took  upon  themselves  the  vows 
that  bound  them  together,  not  only  for  time,  but  for  eternity. 

In  a  party  from  England  which  followed  this  other  com- 
pany very  shortly,  was  a  family  named  Right,  who  had, 
among  other  children,  two  lovely  daughters.  Such  girls  as 
they — bright,  refined,  and  pleasing  in  manner  and  dispo- 
sition —  could  not  remain  long  without  lovers  in  a  place 
where  marriageable  men  were  so  plentiful  as  in  the  Mormon 
Zion.  They  were  very  intimate  with  Brigham  Young's 
family,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  elder  became  the 
plural  wife  of  David  Candland,  a  prominent  Mormon  elder, 
and  a  confidential  friend  of  the  Prophet.  He  had  had  many 
wives,  but  only  two  were  living  at  the  time  of  his  marriage 
with  Miss  Right.  He  had  thirty-three  children,  who,  he 
boasted,  had  never  cost  him  a  cent,  and  the  pretty  young 
wife  was  installed  as  "  mother  "  over  his  not  very  promising 
brood.  He  was,  as  he  was  pleased  to  term  himself,  an 
"  aristocrat,"  and  would  not  descend  to  the  performance  of 
menial  labor ;  but,  as  the  family  must  live  somehow,  the 
wives  have  to  get  along  as  best  they  can,  but  they  live  in  the 
depths  of  poverty  and  degradation,  while  he  enjoys  prophetic 
favor,  stands  high  in  the  church,  and  is  a  Beau  Brummel  in 
dress.  He  has  recently  commenced  the  study  of  law,  prob- 
ably at  the  Prophet's  instigation. 


HOW    LITTLE    GIRLS    WERE    MARRIED.  319 

The  other  sister  became  the  fourth  wife  of  Mr.  Charles 
Bassett,  at  that  time  a  prominent  merchant  in  Salt  Lake. 
The  third  wife  was  cast  aside  to  make  room  for  her,  and  for 
some  time  she  was  the  favored  one,  indulged  in  every  whim, 
and  petted  and  flattered  until  her  head  was  nearly  turned. 
But,  as  has  happened  with  other  favorite  wives,  her  reign 
was  short,  and  she  was  compelled  to  stand  on  one  side  and 
see  another  take  her  place.  Mr.  Bassett,  when  he  tired  of  his 
fourth  victim,  married  his  niece  and  adopted  daughter —  a 
mere  girl,  only  fourteen  years  old.  She  is  the  present  favor- 
ite, and  everything  that  she  can  possibly  desire  is  lavished 
upon  her —  nothing  is  too  fine  or  too  expensive  for  her ;  and, 
in  the  mean  time,  the  woman  whose  place  she  took — and 
who  was  herself  the  usurper  of  another  woman's  kingdom  — 
goes  out  to  work  to  support  herself  and  her  children.  Her 
eldest  daughter  —  a  girl  just  in  her  teens,  not  much  older 
than  her  father's  new  wife  —  has  been  compelled  to  go  out 
to  service. 

This  is  the  fate  (and  not  an  uncommon  one)  of  two  young 
girls  who  supposed  they  were  marrying  two  of  the  best  men 
in  the  "kingdom."  These  men  were  popular  preachers,  as 
regular  as  the  Pharisee  in  attending  to  all  their  religious 
duties,  and  loud  and  earnest  in  their  defence  of  the  glorious 
institution  of  polygamy,  which  "institution"  they  so  brightly 
adorn. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


THE    MYSTERIES    OF    POLYGAMY.  —  WHAT    THE    WIVES 
COULD    TELL. 

Incestuous  Intermarriages.  —  A  Widow  and  her  Daughters  married  to  the 
same  Man.  —  "Marrying  my  Pa."  —  The  "  U.  S."  Government  Con- 
niving at  Mormon  Iniquities.  —  Beastly  Conduct  of  Delegate  George 
Q.  Cannon.  —  Polygamists  Legislating  for  Bigamists.  —  Mother  and 
Daughter  fighting  for  the  same  Man  !  —  It  i«  Wicked  to  Live  with  an 
Old  Wife.  —  A  Young  lover  Ninety  Years  Old! — A  Bride  Eleven 
years  Old  !  —  Brides  of  Thirteen  and  Fourteen  Years  !  —  I  receive  an 
"  Offer  "  when  Twelve  Years  Old  !  —  Old  Ladies  at  a  Discount :  Young 
Women  at  a  Premium.  —  Respect  for  the  Silver  Crown  of  Age.  —  Heber 
gives  his  Opinion. —  "  Why  is  She  making  such  a  Fuss  ?  " —  Seeing  One's 
Husband  Once  a  Year.  —  The  Rascality  of  Orson  Hyde  towards  his 
Wife. — When  Rival  Wives  make  Friends.  —  A  Very  Funny  Story 
about  an  Apostle  and  his  Wife.  —  Rights  of  the  First  Wife  :  Brigham 
Young  in  a  Fix,  —  He  treats  an  Early  Wife  to  a  Dance.  —  Amelia  in  the 
Shade. —  The  Prophet  becomes  Frisky.  —  Poor,  neglected  Emmeline. 
—  How  Polygamy  was  once  Denied.  —  A  Mistake  which  a  French  Lady 
Made.  —  Milk  for  Babes. 

HE  marriage  of  mother 
and  daughter  to  one  man 
was  of  so  common  an 
occurrence  that  it  ceased 
to  be  regarded  as  any- 
thing out  of  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  events. 

I  had  some  school- 
mates, two  sisters,  whose 
mother  was  married  to 
a  Mr.  McDonald,  and 
when  she  gave  herself  to 
him,  it  was  with  the  ex- 
press understanding  that 
the  daughters  should  be 

sealed  to  him  as  soon  as  they  were  of  a  proper  age.     The 
little  girls  knew  of  the  arrangement,  and  used  to  talk  very 


ORSON  HYDB  AND  FORGOTTEN  WIFE. 


A  PRETTY  DELEGATE  TO  SEND  TO  CONGRESS  !    ^21 

openly  of  "marrying  Pa,"  and  in  very  much  the  same  way 
they  would  speak  of  their  intention  to  take  tea  with  a  friend. 

That  mother  must  have  taken  a  great  deal  of  comfort  with 
her  children  !  Fancy  her  feelings  ;  knowing  that  she  was 
bringing  up  her  daughters  as  wives  for  her  own  husband ! 

Wives  and  mothers,  living  outside  of  polygamy,  can  any- 
thing be  more  revolting  to  your  ideas  of  womanly  purity, 
more  thoroughly  opposed  to  all  the  sweet  tenderness  of  the 
maternal  instinct,  than  cases  like  this?  And  yet,  horror- 
stricken  as  you  are  by  them,  they  are  by  no  means  excep- 
tional, but  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  And  it  is  in  your 
own  country  that  these  outrages  against  all  womanhood 
occur,  under  your  own  government,  upheld  by  your  own; 
chosen  legislators — tacitly,  at  least —  since  in  this  time, -as 
in  the  days  of  Christ's  actual  presence  on  earth,  those  who 
are  not  for  are  against.  And  if  your  government  and  its 
rulers  refuse  to  do,  or  even  fail  to  do  without  refusing,  any- 
thing to  eradicate  this  foul  blot  upon  national  purity  and 
honor,  why,  they  are  in  so  far  encouraging  its  presence,  and 
rendering  it  daily  more  difficult  of  eradication. 

For  the  tide  of  evil  that  set  so  strongly  in  those  terrible 
days  of  1856  has  never  been  stayed.  It  still  rolls  on  with 
all  the  added  filth  and  abomination  which  it  has  gathered  in 
its  course,  until  it  is  one  reeking  mass  of  the  foulest  im- 
purities. 

Incest,  murder,  suicide,  mania  and  bestiality  are  the  chief 
"beauties"  of  this  infamous  system,  which  are  so  glow- 
ingly alluded  to  by  its  eloquent  expounders  and  defenders. 

And  George  Q^  Cannon,  one  of  its  ablest  apostles, — 
himself  a  practical  polygamist,  being  the  husband  of  four 
living  wives,  three  of  whom  he  grossly  neglects,  —  goes  to 
Washington  from  Utah  as  Congressional  Delegate  from  that 
Territory,  and  helps  to  make  the  laws  which  send  George 
Smith,  of  Massachusetts,  to  State  Prison  for  three  }^ears  for 
the  crime  of  having  two  wives  !  Is  it  that  bigamy  is  a  pun- 
ishable offence,  and  polygamy  is  not?  If  so,  George  Smith 

21 


322 


BIGAMY    Versus    POLYGAMY. 


APOSTLE  GEORGE  Q.    CANNON, 

MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 
[Has  four  wives  and  thirteen  children.] 


has  only  to  take  two  more  wives  and  he  can,  perhaps,  enjoy 
the  confidence  of  the  government  and  the  protection  of  its 
laws  as  fully  as  the  Apostolic  George  Q^ 

If  the  gentleman  in  Mem- 
phis, Tennessee,  who  has 
recently  been  indicted  for 
marrying  his  deceased  wife's 
niece  had  only  married  six 
of  his  own  nieces,  he  might 
now  be  enjoying  his  liberty 
and  his  youthful  brides'  so- 
ciety, with  all  the  freedom 
which  is  accorded  to  Bishop 
Johnson,  of  Utah  —  that  is, 
if  he,  too,  had  lived  among 
the  Saints  in  Utah. 

The  relation  between 
mother  and  daughter,  when 
one  becomes  the  rival  of  the  other,  is  by  no  means  the 
pleasantest  in  the  world,  and  it  is  usually  the  case  that  the 
mother  has  much  the  worse  time.  She  sees  herself  neg- 
lected for  a  younger  and  fairer  woman  by  the  man  in 
whose  service  she  has  expended  both  youth  and  beauty,  and 
sees  the  daughter  whom  she  has  so  carefully  and  tenderly 
nurtured,  and  who  should  now  be  her  stay,  and  her  comfort, 
and  the  pride  of  her  maternal  heart,  usurping  her  place  in 
her  husband's  affection  and  in  her  home,  and  striking  a 
blow  at  her  happiness  that  is  fatal.  She  can  turn  neither  to 
husband  nor  daughter  for  comfort,  and  the  religion  which 
should  be  her  stay  is  but  a  mockery,  since  it  brings  all  the 
misery  and  desolation  into  her  wrecked  life. 

The  leaders  of  her  religion  teach  openly  that  it  is  not 
right  for  husbands  to  live  with  their  wives  after  they  are 
advanced  in  years ;  and  they  also  teach  that  a  man  is  mar- 
riageable until  he  is  a  hundred  years  old.  This  has  always 
been  a  strong  point  with  them,  and  in  urging  polygamy,  in 


OLD    WOMEN   AT   A   DISCOUNT.  323 

the  "  Reformation  "  times,  they  used  to  advise  the  young  girls 
to  choose  for  their  husbands  men  of  experience,  who  would 
have  the  power  of  resurrecting  them,  rather  than  a  young 
man  whose  position  in  the  church  was  not  fixed.  They 
carried  the  practice  of  this  doctrine  to  the  same  extreme  that 
they  carried  everything  else.  One  enthusiastic  elder  secured 
for  a  wife  a  girl  of  eleven  years,  and  brides  of  thirteen  and 
fourteen  were  often  seen,  especially  in  Southern  Utah,  where 
the  excitement  was  most  intense,  and  rose  almost  to  frenzy. 
I  was  about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  my  father  had  several 
offers  for  me  from  different  church  dignitaries  ;  but  however 
easily  he  might  be  beguiled  himself  into  the  snares  set  by 
the  lecherous  leaders  of  Mormonism  and  polygamy,  he  had 
no  idea  of  making  his  little  girl  a  victim ;  and  though  I  was 
duly  advised  by  teachers  and  catechists  to  marry  into  poly- 
gamy when  I  was  a  little  older,  I  gave  very  little  heed  to  the 
advice,  and  set  about  making  my  own  romance,  just  as  girls 
everywhere  do,  in  my  imagination. 

It  is  painful  to  one  used  to  the  finer  courtesies  of  life  to 
see  how  age  is  neglected  in  Utah,  and  the  want  of  respect 
that  is  shown  towards  it,  especially  towards  women,  who 
have  passed  out  of  the  sunshine  years  of  life,  and  are  enter- 
ing the  shadow.  When  I  came  East,  one  of  the  strangest 
things  to  me  was  the  deference  that  was  paid  to  age,  it 
was  so  unlike  anything  I  had  been  used  to ;  and  when  I 
saw  an  old  couple  clinging  together,  with  no  dread  shadow 
of  polygamy  between  them,  with  only  the  prospect  of  death 
to  part  them,  I  have  been  thrilled  through  and  through  with 
the  sweetest,  strangest  emotion.  I  could  scarcely  believe 
my  own  senses  ;  it  seemed  impossible  that  in  this  world  such 
devotion  could  exist,  and  I  could  only  wonder  and  weep, 
and  thank  God  that,  in  the  world  that  I  had  been  taught  to 
look  upon  as  so  wicked  and  depraved,  there  was  such  a 
thing  as  love,  and  devotion,  and  thoughtful  care  for  women, 
and  that  every  added  wrinkle  or  silver  hair  brought  more 
tender  care  and  tenderer  devotion.  In  the  light  of  affection 


3H 

like  this,  well-tried  and  long-enduring,  the  hateful  form  of 
polygamy  would  rise  up  before  me  more  monstrous,  more 
hideous,  more  revolting  than  ever. 

Think,  in  contrast  to  this,  of  a  woman  who  has  lived  with  her 
husband  during  all  the  years  of  her  fresh  and  mature  woman- 
hood, being  left  alone,  when  she  becomes  deserted  by  the  hus- 
band whom  she  has  loved  so  well  and  so  long,  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  priesthood  !  Heber  Kimball  used  to  say,  when  he 
knew  of  a  woman  grieving  over  the  neglect  of  her  husband, 
"What  is  she  making  such  a  fuss  for?  She  has  no  business 
with  a  husband."  Who  can  blame  the  disciples  when  the 
leader  sets  the  example?  Brigham  Young's  first  living 
wife,  —  his  only  real  and  legal  wife,  —  a  woman  of  his  own 
age,  is  entirely  neglected  by  him,  and  long  ago  ceased  to 
be  his  wife  but  in  name. 

Sometimes  these  old  and  middle-aged  ladies  do  not  see 
their  husbands  once  a  year,  and  yet  they  may  not  live  half 

a  mile  apart.  A  few  years 
since,  at  a  large  party  at  the 
Social  Hall  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  Orson  Hyde,  one  of  the 
twelve  apostles,  met  the  wife 
of  his  youth,  the  mother  of 
many  of  his  children.  He  had 
escorted  some  of  his  younger 
wives  there,  and  she  came 
with  a  friend.  It  chanced  that 
they  were  seated  near  each 
other  at  the  table,  and  were 
compelled  to  speak ;  they 

APOSTLE  ORSON  HYDE.  x 

shook    hands,   exchanged  a 

very  commonplace  greeting,  and  that  was  all  that  passed 
between  them.  Neither  is  this  an  isolated  case ;  it  very 
often  occurs  that  an  elderly  lady  attends  a  party  with 
friends,  and  meets  her  husband  there  with  one  or  more 
younger  wives ;  and  sometimes  both  she  and  they  have 


THE    NEXT    ADDITION    TO    HIS       KINGDOM'.'  325 

to  watch  their  mutual  husband  while  he  plays  the  agree- 
able to  some  young  girl  who  has  taken  captive  his  wander- 
ing fancy,  and  whom  he  intends  to  make  the  next  addition 
to  his  kingdom. 

It  is  then  that  wives,  who  have  heretofore  been  rivals, 
join  their  forces  against  a  common  enemy  ;  and  the  young 
woman  who  is  engaging  the  attentions  of  the  already  much- 
married  but  still  marriageable  beau,  is  sure  to  suffer  at  the 
hands  of  the  new  allies,  who  have  so  recently  struck  hands 
in  a  common  cause.  She,  of  course,  knows  this  instinc- 
tively, and  she  revenges  herself  by  "drawing"  on  her  admirer 
by  every  art  in  her  power,  until  he  becomes  so  marked  in 
his  devotion  that  the  entire  company  know,  as  well  as  the 
wives  themselves,  what  his  intentions  are ;  and,  in  addition 
to  the  pique  caused  by  his  neglect,  they  have  to  endure  the 
congratulations  of  friends  upon  the  approaching  alliance. 
In  cases  like  this,  the  first  wife  does  not  feel  so  much  pain 
as  the  younger  one,  and  the  whilom  favorite,  who,  no 
matter  how  she  has  snubbed  her  before,  comes  now  to  seek 
her  sympathy.  She  would  be  something  more  than  human, 
if,  with  the  sadness  of  her  heart  was  not  mingled  a  little 
feeling  of  pleasure  that  she  was  getting  her  revenge  in  see- 
ing the  jealousy  and  suffering  of  her  late  rival. 

To  return  to  the  encounter  between  Hyde  and  his  wife. 
There  is  a  little  romance  attached  to  their  separation  which 
I  have  just  been  reminded  of.  When  Joseph  Smith  first 
taught  polygamy,  and  gave  the  wives  as  well  as  the  hus- 
bands opportunity  to  make  new  choice  of  life-partners,  Mrs. 
Hyde,  at  that  time  a  young  and  quite  prepossessing  woman, 
became  one  of  the  Prophet's  numerous  fancies,  and  he  took 
great  pains  to  teach  her  most  thoroughly  the  principles  of 
the  new  celestial  doctrines.  It  was  rumored,  at  the  time, 
that  she  was  an  apt  and  willing  pupil.  Hyde  was  away  on 
a  mission  at  the  time,  and  when  he  returned,  he,  in  turn,  im- 
bibed the  teachings  of  polygamy  also,  and  prepared  to 
extend  his  kingdom  indefinitely.  In  the  mean  time  it  was 


326  THE    DANCING-PARTY. IN   A   FIX. 

hinted  to  him  that  Smith  had  had  his  first  wife  sealej  to  him- 
self in  his  absence,  as  a  wife  for  eternity.  Inconsistent  as  it 
may  seem,  Hyde  was  in  a  furious  passion.  Like  many 
other  men,  he  thought  it  no  harm  for  him  to  win  the  affection 
of  another  man's  wife,  and  make  her  his  "  celestial "  spouse  ; 
but  he  did  not  propose  having  his  rights  interfered  with  even 
by  the  holy  Prophet  whose  teachings  he  so  implicitly  followed, 
and  he  swore  that  if  this  was  true  he  would  never  live  with 
her  again.  But  he  did  live  with  her  for  several  years  after 
the  exodus  from  Nauvoo  and  the  settlement  of  Utah. 
Finally,  the  old  affair  was  revived,  and  I  think  Brigham 
himself  informed  his  apostle  that  she  was  his  wife  only  for 
time,  but  Joseph's  for  eternity ;  and  as  she  was  no  longer 
young,  and  other  wives  were  plentiful,  he  left  her  to  care 
for  herself  as  best  she  could. 

Although  the  Mormons  have  from  the  very  commence- 
ment been  very  fond  of  parties,  and  of  amusements  gen- 
erally, they  are  much  more  enjoyed  by  the  men  than 
by  the  women,  although  both  attend.  Occasionally  some 
very  curious  scenes  are  witnessed,  which,  after  all,  are 
not  at  all  amusing  to  the  persons  most  nearly  concerned. 
For  instance  :  a  man  takes  two  wives  to  a  ball,  and,  if 
he  be  a  lover  of  peace,  he  is  at  his  wits'  ends  how  to 
preserve  it.  He  must  treat  each  one  alike,  as  nearly  as 
possible ;  dance  with  each  one  an  equal  number  of  times, 
and  see  that  each  one  is  equally  well  served  at  supper.  The 
beginning  of  sorrow  comes  with  the  vexed  question,  which 
he  shall  dance  with  first.  That,  however,  is  quite  easily 
settled,  since  custom,  or,  rather,  Mormon  etiquette,  demands 
that  he  shall  give  the  older  wife  the  preference.  It  may  be 
she  is  not  the  favorite ;  but  that  does  not  matter :  on  this 
one  point  etiquette  is  rigid,  and  even  the  Prophet  himself 
dare  not  defy  it. 

He  had  invited  Amelia,  the  present  favorite,  and  Emmeline, 
whose  place  in  the  priestly  heart  Amelia  had  taken,  to 
attend  a  ball  with  him.  It  was  a  very  strange  thing  to  do, 


"BRIGHAM,  WON'T  YOU  DANCE?" 


327 


for  generally,  when  Amelia  went  with  him,  he  devoted 
himself  exclusively  to  her.  But  on  this  occasion  he  had 
brought  Emmeline  along,  too.  Early  in  the  evening,  one 
of  the  committee  of  management  came  bustling  up,  with  a 
"Brother  Brigham,  won't  you  dance?" 

"Well,  I  suppose  so,"  was  the  reply.  Then  he  hesitated 
for  a  moment.  There  sat  both  Emmeline  and  Amelia,  the 
former  looking  quietly  unconscious,  yet  wondering  very 
much,  as  she  afterwards  told  me,  "  what  Brother  Brigham 
would  do,"  and  enjoying  his  dilemma  immensely,  while  the 


BRIGHAM  IN  A  QUANDARY. 

latter  looked  very  stately  and  dignified,  and  also  threaten- 
ing. There  stood  the  Prophet,  inclination  pulling  him  one 
way,  etiquette  and  duty  the  other.  He  hesitated  a  moment 
longer;  then,  walking  up  to  Emmeline,  said,  ungraciously 
and  gruffly,  "Come  along  and  dance  ;  "  and,  without  offering 
her  his  arm,  walked  on  to  the  floor,  leaving  her  to  follow. 

As  is  the  custom  at  balls  which  Brigham  and  Amelia 
grace  with  their  presence,  one  of  his  satellites  instantly 
begged  for  the  honor  of  Amelia's  hand  in  the  dance,  and 
led  her  at  once  as  vis-a-vis  to  her  husband.  During  the 


328  "I'l.T,    DANCK    WITH    MY    WIFE." 

entire  dance  he  did  not  address  one  word  to  Emmeline,  and 
was  evidently  made  very  wretched  by  the  demeanor  of 
Amelia,  who  snubbed  him  most  decidedly,  and  would  take 
no  notice  of  all  his  attempts  to  win  her  back  to  good  humor. 

At  the  end  of  the  dance  he  led  Emmeline  to  her  seat  as 
hastily  as  possible,  left  her  without  a  word,  and  endeav- 
ored, with  all  the  art  which  he  possessed,  to  propitiate  his 
angry  favorite.  Presently,  the  ubiquitous  manager  was  at 
his  elbow  again  :  — 

"  Another  cotillon,  Brother  Brigham ;  will  you  dance 
again  ?  " 

"With  pleasure,"  answered  the  delighted  President. 
Then,  turning  quickly  to  Amelia,  he  offered  his  arm  in  the 
most  impressive  manner,  saying,  — 

"Now  I  will  dance  with  my  wife ;"  and  led  her  off  in 
triumph,  as  pleased  as  any  young  fellow  at  the  opportunity 
of  showing  his  devotion  to  her.  He  was  vivacity  itself 
during  the  dance,  and  finally  succeeded  in  coaxing  a  smile 
from  the  capricious  tyrant  of  his  heart.  As  deeply  hurt  as 
Emmeline  was  by  his  rude  boorishness  of  manner  towards 
herself,  and  the  insult  conveyed  to  her  by  the  remark  to 
Amelia,  which  she  overheard,  she  could  not  help  being 
pleased  at  seeing  the  punishment  he  was  receiving  at  the 
hands  of  the  outraged  favorite. 

A  system  that  engenders  feelings  like  this  can  surely  not 
be  called,  with  any  degree  of  propriety,  a  heavenly  system, 
and  religion  is  outraged  every  time  its  name  is  used  in 
connection  with  it.  It  panders  to  the  baser  passions  of 
men,  and  crushes  the  graces  of  Christian  faith  and  charity 
out  of  every  woman's  heart.  It  engenders  malice,  and 
strife,  and  envyings,  and  hatred,  and  backbiting,  and  all 
that  is  worst  in  the  masculine  or  feminine  heart.  It  makes 
men  selfish  and  mean,  and  women  wretched  and  degraded. 
It  takes  from  one  the  dignity  and  poise  which  come  from 
absolute  self-control,  and  from  the  other  the  sweet,  refined, 
womanly  assurance  which  comes  from  self-respect.  Talk 


HOW  JOHN  TAYLOR  LIED  AT  BOULOGNE.      329 

of  its  "  celestial "  origin  !  It  is  the  devil's  own  device  for 
rendering  men  and  women  both  less  godlike  and  pure. 
And  the  cunning  of  his  device  is  shown  in  the  religious 
mask  which  he  puts  upon  its  frightful  face,  and  the  Chris- 
tian robes  with  which  he  hides  its  horrible  deformity. 

It  began  by  deception,  it  has  been  fostered  by  lies. 

When  the  first  rumor  of  its  existence  as  a  religious  ordi- 
nance among  the  American  Saints  was  first  exciting  Eu- 
rope, and  the  American  missionaries  were  assuring  their 
converts  that  the  rumor  was  false,  and  was  started  by  their 
enemies  to  injure  them  and  their  cause,  the  most  eloquent 
and  remarkable  denial  of  it  was  made  by  the  Apostle  John 
Taylor,  at  Boulognc-sur-Mcr,  where  there  was  at  that  time 
quite  a  large  and  successful  mission. 

The  Apostle  Taylor  was  the  husband  of  five  wives,  all  liv- 
ing in  Salt  Lake  ;  yet  that  slight  matter  did  not  hinder  him 
from  most  emphatically  repudiating  the  charge  brought 
against  the  church.  He  quoted  from  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, dwelling  particularly  on  the  passage  that  expressly 
commands  that  a  man  shall  have  but  one  wife  ;  then  mentions 
the  Bible  command  that  a  man  shall  take  a  wife  and  cleave 
to  her  only ;  and  made  the  sermon  so  strong  and  so  con- 
vincing that  no  further  proof  was  asked  by  those  who 
heard  him.  His  manner  was  impressive.  He  was  sor- 
rowful, he  was  indignant,  he  was  reproachful;  he  was  elo- 
quent, and  fervent,  and  almost  inspired,  thought  those  who 
heard  him.  He  was  logical  and  convincing  in  what  he 
said.  In  short,  he  was  a  consummate  hypocrite,  lying  in 
the  name  of  God  to  a  confiding  people,  with  a  smooth 
tongue  and  an  unblushing  face. 

He  employed  a  French  lady  —  one  of  his  converts,  and 
a  most  charming  and  cultured  person  —  to  translate  the 
sermon  for  him  into  her  own  language.  He  then  had  it 
published,  and  distributed  largely  through  the  country. 
Very  many  were  kept  from  apostatizing  by  this  tract,  and 
a  large  number  announced  their  intention  of  at  once 


330 


A   CONSCIENCE-STRICKEN    WOMAN. 


APOSTLE  JOHN  TAYLOR. 
[Husband  of  Six  Wives.] 


gathering  to  Zion.     Among  them  was  the  lady   who  had 
translated    the     sermon    for   Taylor,    and  who,    influenced 

by  the  spirit  of  the  discourse, 
and  the  seeming  earnestness 
of  the  missionary,  had  be- 
come more  zealous  than  ever 
in  her  devotion  to  her  new 
and  ardently  beloved  faith. 

Imagine,  if  you  can,  her 
horror,  on  reaching  Utah,  at 
the  social  state  of  affairs 
which  found  her  there,  and 
discovered  that  she  not  only 
had  been  grossly  deceived, 
but,  in  her  ignorance,  had 
helped  to  deceive  so  many 
others  ;  for  it  was  through  the 

influence  of  her  translation  of  Taylor's  denial  that  nearly 
all  the  party  with  whom  she  emigrated  had  come. 

She  apostatized  at  once,  but  she  was  conscience-stricken 
at  the  part  she  had  so  unwittingly  played,  and  could  not  be 
comforted.  A  more  remorseful,  grief-stricken  woman  was 
never  seen,  and  she  felt  all  the  more  deeply  the  harm  that 
had  been  wrought,  when  she  saw  how  powerless  she  was 
to  undo  it.  No  effort  of  hers  could  ever  bring  these  un- 
happy people  from  the  infamous  community  in  which  they 
found  themselves,  and  a  part  of  which  they  were  destined 
to  become.  For  with  them,  the  men  especially,  as  with  all 
others  who  remain  under  the  baleful  influence  long,  the 
end  was  certain.  They  first  endured,  and  then  embraced ; 
pity  was  left  out  altogether,  although  God  knows  there  is 
no  condition  that  calls  for  pity  as  does  that  of  the  polyga- 
mous wife.  The  lad}7  herself  left  Utah,  but  her  people 
were  forced  to  remain.  I  wonder  how  those  poor  wives, 
decoyed  into  a  strange  country  by  priestly  promises,  and 
deceived  by  priestly  lying,  could  bear  ever  again  to  look  in 


WHEN    THE    TRUTH    BECAME    KNOWN.  331 

the  face,  or  listen  to  the  voice,  of  the  man  who  had  so 
wickedly  misled  them. 

When  the  missionaries  were  asked  why  they  denied  so 
stoutly  the  existence  of  the  system,  when  it  must  be  sooner 
or  later  discovered  that  they  were  falsifying,  they  excused 
themselves  by  saying  that  the  people  could  not  then  stand 
such  strong  doctrine,  and  they  must  give  them  only  what 
they  could  safely  take ;  that  in  good  time  the  Lord  would 
open  their  hearts  to  receive  his  truth,  —  the  "good  time" 
which  the  brethren  referred  to  being  after  they  had  left 
their  own  country,  crossed  the  United  States,  and  put 
themselves  outside  the  pale  of  civilization,  and  were  lit- 
erally in  the  power  of  the  church.  When  they  had  gone 
so  far  that  retreat  was  impossible,  then  they  would  tell 
them  the  truth,  knowing  that  they  could  not  choose  but 
listen. 

As  long  as  they  possibly  could  they  denied  it  in  the  mis- 
sions abroad,  but,  by-and-by,  it  became  so  notorious  that  it 
must  be  acknowledged ;  and  in  the  face  of  all  the  denial, 
all  the  asseverations  that  there  was  no  such  institution,  and, 
according  to  the  laws  of  God  and  man  there  could  be  no 
such  institution,  the  Millennial  Star  suddenly  published 
the  "  Revelation,"  having  given  no  warning  of  what  it  was 
about  to  do. 

The  excitement  among  the  Mormons  through  Europe,  in 
England  especially,  was  intense,  and  it  took  all  the  elo- 
quence and  sophistry  of  the  entire  missionary  board  to  pre- 
vent a  general  apostasy.  Hundreds  did  leave  the  church, 
and  many  more  were  on  the  point  of  doing  so.  But  the 
ingenuity  of  the  Mormon  Elders,  which  seems  never  to  fail 
them,  came  to  their  rescue.  They  explained  that  this  "Rev- 
elation "  forced  no  one  into  polygamy ;  it  only  established  it 
as  a  church  institution  that  might  be  availed  of  by  anyone 
who  chose  to  enter  the  "Celestial  Kingdom, "but  that  it  was 
entirely  optional.  In  fact,  the  same  arguments  that  were 
used  to  win  single  and  special  converts  were  used  to  con- 


332  THEY   CALLED    IT,    OPTIONAL  ! 

vince  the  masses ;  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  all  this 
sophistry  had  actual  weight,  and  many  worthy  and  sensible 
men  and  women  stayed  by  the  church  who  would  have 
abandoned  it  in  disgust,  had  they  known  the  truth  as  it  was 
forced  upon  them  afterwards.  But,  as  I  said  a  little  while 
since,  the  system  begun  in  deception  and  fraud  fattened  on 
lies  and  treachery.  May  it  meet  with  a  speedy  death, 
brought  on  by  a  surfeit  of  its  favorite  food. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


BRIGHAM    BUILDS    WAGONS    BY   "INSPIRATION."  —  THE 
CHURCH   SETS   UP   A  WHISKEY-STORE. 

Saying  "Yes"  under  Difficulties.  —  A  Woman  who  Meant  to  have  her 
Way. — Two  Company  :  Three  None.  —  Building  Wagons  by  Inspira- 
tion. —  My  Father  despatched  to  Chicago.  —  He  gets  rid  of  his  New 
Wives.  —  My  Brother  sent  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  —  My  Mother  tells 
her  own  Story.  —  She  Returns  to  Salt  Lake  City  to  see  my  Father. — 
Wifely  Considerations.  —  She  finds  two  other  Ladies  at  her  Husband's 
Bedside.  —  He  likes  a  good  deal  of  Wives  about  Him  !  —  A  Heart  dead 
to  Love.  —  Brigham  "  asks  no  odds  of  Uncle  Sam  or  the  Devil."  —  He 
proclaims  Martial  Law.  — Fiery  Speeches  in  the  Tabernacle.  —  Prepay 
ing  for  War.  —  Government  Troops  Arrive.  —  The  Saints  quit  Sail 
Lake  City. — The  Church  Distillery.  —  Brigham  shamelessly  Robs  my 
Father.  —  He  fills  his  own  Pockets.  —  My  Father,  being  without  Funds, 
takes  his  Sixth  Wife. 

OME  time  before  out 
family  bereavement  by 
the  loss  of  Louise,  my 
mother  and  I  went  to 
Skull  Valley,  about 
seventy  miles  from  Salt 
Lake  City,  where  my 
brothers  were  keeping 
a  herd-ground. 

We  had  intended  to 
go  by  ourselves ;  but 
one  of  the  young  wives, 
who  was  very  much  at- 
tached to  my  mother, 
begged  to  be  allowed 
to  go.  She  appealed 
first  to  my  father,  and 


MORMONS  BURNING  A  GOVERNMENT  TR; 


he,  in  turn,  referred  her  to  my  mother. 


334  THE    FIFTH    PART    OF   A   HUSBAND. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  look  of  desperation  on  my  moth- 
er's face,  the  hunted  look  in  her  eyes,  as  she  came  to  me 
after  the  request  had  been  made  and  before  she  had  given 
her  answer.  She  told  me  of  the  new  proposal,  and 
added,  in  a  bitterer  tone  than  I  had  ever  heard  her  use 
before,  — 

"  Why  can't  she  see  and  understand  that  I  want  to  make 
my  escape  from  this  confusion  and  trouble,  and  go  away 
alone?" 

But  she  could  not  see,  and  as  she  was  kind  and  affec- 
tionate, and  my  mother  was  quite  well  aware  of  her  regard 
for  her,  she  could  do  nothing  but  say  "yes,"  although  it 
was  a  great  cross  for  her  to  be  obliged  to  do  so. 

Here  was  the  end  of  all  her  sweet  dreaming.  She  had 
thought  to  go  quietly  away,  taking  me  with  her,  and  we 
two  living  with  "  the  boys "  at  the  herd-ground.  To  be 
sure,  there  was  only  a  log-cabin  there ;  but  what  did  that 
matter?  She  would  rest  in  her  children's  love,  which  at 
least  was  her  very  own ;  and  with  them  about  her,  she 
would  forget,  as  far  as  possible,  the  horrible  system  that 
had  brought  so  much  unhappiness  to  her.  Fond  as  she 
was  of  my  father,  it  was  much  easier  for  her  to  be  separated 
from  him  in  this  way,  than  it  was  to  be  under  the  same 
roof,  and  see  him  bestowing  attentions,  that  used  to  be  hers 
exclusively,  on  others.  Dear  as  the  husband  was,  yet  she 
took  very  little  comfort  with  a  fifth  part  of  him ;  and  she 
longed  to  get  away  where  she  could  live  in  memory  the  old 
happy  days  over  again,  and,  with  her  children's  arms  about 
her,  forget  the  suffering  the  later  years  had  brought,  ig- 
noring all  but  the  very  present,  and  close  her  eyes  to  the 
future,  which  promised  but  little  better,  after  all,  since  what 
was  her  greatest  cross  here  was  to  follow  her  into  the 
hereafter. 

I  wonder  sometimes,  knowing  as  I  do  now  what  she 
suffered,  and  realizing  it  as  I  could  not  then,  that  she  did 
not  cry  out  in  the  bitterness  of  her  sorrow,  as  one  Mormon 


GOING    TO    SKULL    VALLEY.  335 

woman  whom  I  know  did,  "  O,  if  I  could  only  believe 
that  death  was  an  eternal  sleep,  I  think  I  should  be  better 
able  to  endure ;  but  to  think  that  we  have  got  to  live  on 
eternally  under  this  curse  of  polygamy,  almost  drives  me 
mad."  Or  like  another,  equally  desperate  and  miserable, 
"  I  would  kill  myself  if  I  thought  death  would  end  my  mis- 
ery ;  but  as  long  as  I  must  suffer,  it  might  as  well  be  here 
as  anywhere.  O  for  the  anticipation  of  one  hour  of  peace 
and  rest !  " 

Ever  since  my  father's  return  from  his  mission  my  mother 
had  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go  away,  — to  have  a  home  by 
herself;  but  somehow  my  father  could  not  bring  himself  to 
let  her  go  until  now.  She  was  the  balance-wheel  in  the 
domestic  machinery,  and  things  seemed  to  go  smoothly 
wrhen  she  was  round  about.  She  was  always  prepared  for 
any  emergency ;  and  both  my  father  and  the  other  wives 
instinctively  turned  to  her  when  anything  was  wrong.  She 
was  so  strong,  so  helpful,  so  self-reliant,  and  so  patient, 
that  she  seemed,  some  way,  the  protector  of  us  all.  I  think, 
if  my  father  had  not  seen  her  so  very  much  in  earnest,  and 
so  determined  to  go  at  all  hazards,  that  his  consent  would 
not  have  been  won  ;  but  finding  it  useless  to  oppose  her,  he 
gave  a  reluctant  consent. 

Then  there  was  a  little  season  of  quiet  joy  between  us 
two ;  for  we  did  not  dare  make  any  very  open  demonstra- 
tions, for  fear  of  hurting  the  feelings  of  those  whom  we  were 
going  to  leave  behind  us.  Our  joy  was  short-lived,  how- 
ever, for  it  was  decided  to  take  a  third  with  us  ;  and  though 
we  liked  her,  yet  she  would  be  what  the  children  call  a 
w  spoil-sport ;  "  and  we  didn't  want  any  one  outside  of  our 
very  selves. 

So  we  went,  we  three,  leaving  the  others  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  where  they  did  not  remain  long  after  we  left,  but,  to 
my  mother's  great  annoyance,  followed  soon  after  to  Skull 
Valley. 

Very  soon  after  our  removal,  Brigham  conceived  the  idea 


336       MAKING  ROOM  FOR  THE  OTHER  WIVES. 

of  establishing  an  express  company,  and  called  on  my  father 
to  go  to  Chicago  and  superintend  the  construction  of  wagons 
and  carriages  for  this  purpose.  They  were  to  be  built  after 
plans  which  Brigham  himself  had  drawn  from  "inspira- 
tion," and  he  insisted  that  the  designs  should  be  closely  and 
faithfully  followed  ;  so  he  sent  my  father  to  see  that  this  was 
done,  he  being  a  practical  wagon-builder. 

Like  the  labor  he  had  been  engaged  in  for  the  four 
previous  years,  we  expected  that  this  would  be  called 
"mission"  work,  and  he  was  not  to  receive  a  penny  for  his 
services  ;  they  were  to  be  given  for  the  good  of  the  "  king- 
dom." This  would  make  the  fifth  year  he  had  spent  away 
from  us,  working  for  the  "church,"  we  receiving  none  of 
the  benefits  of  his  labors.  He  had  no  time,  of  course,  to 
devote  to  his  family,  or  to  labor  for  its  support ;  he  must 
give  his  strength,  and  his  time,  and  his  labor  to  Brigham 
Young.  During  the  three  months  that  he  had  been  at 
home,  he  had  added  as  many  wives  to  the  family-circle ;  but 
there  were  no  added  means  with  which  to  care  for  them  ;  so 
that  now,  when  he  was  called  to  go  away  and  leave  them 
for  an  indefinite  length  of  time,  it  was  considered  expedient 
to  send  the  whole  family  to  us,  to  remain  during  his  ab- 
sence. 

More  log-rooms  were  added  to  the  cabin,  and  down  came 
the  whole  flock,  so  that  we  were  all  together  again.  My 
mother  has  said,  since  then,  that  she  never,  in  her  whole 
life,  felt  so  rebellious  as  she  did  then.  She  had  become  so 
entirely  disgusted  with  polygamy,  that  even  the  fact  that  it 
was  an  important  adjunct  to  the  religion  to  which  she  was  so 
devoted,  did  not  reconcile  her  to  it  one  bit.  She  hated  it; 
she  hated  everybody  connected  with  it ;  and  she  did  not  care 
if  she  never  saw  her  husband  again  in  the  world.  She 
would  not  pray  for  his  safe  return,  for  she  said  she  did  not 
desire  it,  and  she  would  not  add  heartless  prayer  to  her  list 
of  hypocrisies. 

She  kept  all  this  rebellion  within  her  own  heart,  and  I 


SENT    TO    THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS.  337 

am  sure  that  none  of  the  wives  knew  at  all  the  depth  and 
intensity  of  her  feelings  at  that  time.  An  added  sorrow  to 
my  mother  came,  when,  about  the  same  time  that  my  father 
went  to  Chicago,  my  eldest  brother  was  sent  on  a  mission  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  She  mourned  his  departure  deeply, 
and  even  I  could  not  comfort  her.  He  was  sent  for  five 
years,  —  that  was  the  time  designated  in  his  order,  —  and 
my  mother  was  so  broken  in  health  and  spirits  that  she  did 
not  believe  she  should  be  alive  when  he  returned.  He  was, 
however,  immediately  recalled  on  account  of  the  opening  of 
the  Mormon  War,  with  all  other  missionaries  away  from 
home. 

In  the  autumn  we  heard  that  my  father  was  coming 
home  ill ;  he  had  got  "  leave  of  absence  "  from  the  head  of 
the  church,  and  was  coming  home  to  be  taken  care  of.  As 
soon  as  we  heard  the  news,  my  mother  suggested  to  Eliza- 
beth that  she  should  return  to  Salt  Lake  City,  and  prepare 
for  his  reception  at  the  home  there.  She  went  at  once,  and 
my  mother  was  going  on  quietly  with  her  many  duties,  when 
a  messenger  arrived  in  haste  from  the  city  for  my  mother,  to 
convey  her  to  the  husband  who  was  calling  for  her. 

I  think  I  shall  let  her  give  the  incident  in  her  own 
words :  — 

"  At  first  I  declined  going ;  so  rebellious  was  I,  and  so 
bitter,  that  I  actually  felt  that  I  could  not  go.  There  was  a 
momentary  feeling  of  triumph,  that,  in  sickness  or  in  trouble, 
my  husband  turned  to  me,  his  one  true  wife,  for  relief 
and  comfort;  that,  however  he  might  regard  his  younger 
wives  while  well  and  comparatively  prosperous,  he  had  no 
thought  for  them  now ;  yet  this  feeling  failed  to  move  me, 
—  as  instantly,  choking  it  almost  before  it  became  a  defi- 
nite thought,  came  the  bitter  impulse — 'Let  him  alone  ;  leave 
him  to  suffer  :  you  have  not  been  spared  ;  why  should  you  be 
more  merciful  than  he  has  been?  Let  him  feel  what  it  is  to 
need,  and  long  for,  and  even  starve  for  some  one's  love  and 
care,  and  yet  have  it  denied  him  in  all  his  longing  and  his 
22 


THE    MUCH-MARRIED    MAN   FALLS    SICK. 

need ; '  and  for  a  moment  I  was  actually  glad  that  I  had 
the  power  to  inflict  this  pain. 

'  'Let  one  of  the  other  wives  go,'  I  replied  to  the  messen- 
ger's repeated  and  more  urgent  request.  '  I  don't  see  how 
I  can  leave.' 

'  But  you  must,'  was  the  imperative  reply  of  the  man  -, 
'your  husband  is  very  sick,  and  has  sent  for  you,  and  I 
shall  take  no  one  else.' 

"  In  a  moment  I  relented.  I  felt  ashamed  of  my  selfish 
heartlessness  ;  something  of  the  old-time  feeling  came  over 
me,  and,  with  a  sudden  revulsion  of  emotion,  such  as  only 
women  ever  feel,  I  was  as  anxious  now  to  go  to  him  as  I 
had  before  been  indifferent.  After  all,  he  was  my  husband, 
—  mine  as  he  could  never  be  anyone's  else.  I  had  a  claim 
on  him  that  none  of  the  rest  had,  and  he  had  a  claim  on  me 
too.  It  seemed  now  as  though  I  could  not  get  to  him 
quickly  enough.  I  made  my  preparations  in  feverish  haste, 
with  fingers  that  trembled  with  nervous  impatience,  and  in 
a  short  time  was  on  my  way. 

"  The  journey  seemed  so  long  and  tedious !  and  yet  we 
made  it  very  quickly ;  but  to  me,  whose  heart  outran  the 
very  swiftest  conveyance,  it  was  inexpressibly  tiresome.  I 
expect  I  wearied  the  patience  of  my  driver  by  requesting 
him  constantly  to  '  go  faster,'  and  perpetually  asking  if  we 
were  not  almost  there.  I  pictured  to  myself  the  pleasure 
of  having  my  husband,  for  a  little  while  even,  all  my  own 
again.  I  would  make  the  most  of  it.  I  would  forget, 
by  his  sick  bed,  that  there  had  ever  been  the  slightest 
shadow  between  us.  Polygamy  should,  in  that  sick  cham- 
ber, be  as  though  it  never  had  existed.  He  had  sent  for 
me ;  he  had  chosen  me  out  of  all  the  rest  to  be  the  com- 
panion of  his  sick  hours.  In  his  sick-room,  at  least,  my 
sway  should  be  absolute,  and  I  would  not  give  up  one  bit 
of  my  authority  to  anyone  else.  There,  at  least,  as  in  the 
days  of  long  ago,  he  should  be  'mine,  —  mine  only  ; '  but, 
alas  !  he  could  never  again  be  '  for  ever  mine.'  In  spite  of 


A    GOOD    DEAL    OF   WIVES. MUCH   ATTENTION  ! 


339 


my  impatience,  I  was  more  really  happy  than  I  had  been 
for  years.  I  felt  more  like  myself  than  I  had  since  that  fatal 
day  in  Nauvoo,  when,  after  long  and  prayerful  consultation, 
we  decided  that  duty  and  right  demanded  that  we  should 
enter  polygamy,  and  made  the  choice  of  the  first  plural 
wife.  I  was  coming  to  my  own  again,  and  my  life  was 
positively  glorified  by  the  thought.  His  illness,  rather  than 
distressing,  gladdened  me.  I  should  have,  of  course,  the 
exclusive  care  of  him,  and  he  should  miss  nothing  of  the  old 
love  and  tenderness  in  my  regard  for  him.  For  the  time, 
at  least,  we  should  be  all  in  all  to  each  other. 


A   GOOD   DEAL  OF   WlVESI— TOO   MUCH   ATTENTION. 

"  We  arrived  at  last,  and  I  hurried  to  the  sick-room  of  my 
husband,  with  my  heart  full  of  tenderness  for  him,  my  eyes 
brimming  over  with  loving  tears.  But,  in  my  dreamings, 
I  had  forgotten,  or  had  ignored  the  fact,  that  others  had  the 
same  right  to  minister  to  him,  to  care  for  him,  to  remain 
with  and  watch  over  him,  that  I  had ;  and  when  I  entered 
the  room,  the  tenderness  was  driven  from  my  heart,  the 
tears  from  my  eyes,  and  I  stood  there  a  polygamic  wife,  in 
presence  of  three  of  my  husband's  other  wives,  who  had  the 


340 


A   SHARE    OF   A   HUSBAND  ! 


same  privileges  of  his  room  that  I  had,  and  who  were  doing 
their  utmost  to  make  the  invalid  comfortable. 

"  I  was  a  good  nurse,  and,  on  account  of  my  experience, 
the  others  deferred  to  my  opinions  and  advice,  but  insisted 
upon  sharing  my  labors.  My  husband  made  no  objections  ; 
indeed,  I  daresay  he  would  have  been  contented  had  the 
whole  five  of  us  been  dancing  attendance  on  him.  I  worked 
faithfully  and  hard  in  the  sick-room,  but  very  mechanically, 
and,  in  a  dazed,  bewildered  sort  of  way.  All  the  heart 
had  gone  out  of  my  work.  Feeling  seemed  entirely  dead. 
I  hadn't  the  slightest  emotion  for  the  man  who  lay  before 
me  there,  and  I  was  as  indifferent  to  his  fate  as  though  he 
had  been  an  entire  stranger. 

"  1  don't  think  it  was  heartlessness  ;  I  know  it  was  not. 
It  was  because  my  heart  had  been  tortured  into  numbness, 
and  I  no  longer  had  any  power  to  feel.  If  he  had  died,  I 
do  not  think  I  should  have  shed  a  tear.  The  fountain  of 
tears  was  absolutely  frozen,  and  not  one  would  have  flowed 
had  he  lain  before  me  cold,  and  mute,  and  motionless.  I 
should  have  been  as  rigid  as  the  white  face  set  in  death,  on 
which  my  dry  eyes  would  have  looked  vacantly  and  wonder- 
ingly,  as  on  some  strange,  unaccustomed  features. 

"  I  did  not  wish  that  he  might  die  ;  I  was  simply  indiffer- 
ent. With  the  last  flickering  light  that  burned  up  so  brightly 
for  a  little  while,  until  it  entered  the  sick-chamber  and  was 
met  by  the  chilling  breath  of  the  ghostly  presence  of  poly- 
gamy, my  life's  romance  went  out  for  ever.  The  life  or  death 
of  one  man  could  not  change  the  face  of  the  world  to  me. 
Where  I  had  thought  I  was  strong,  I  was  weak  ;  my  dream 
was  broken  ;  life  was  henceforth  a  dead  level  of  mere  exist- 
ence. My  only  thought  was  to  get  away.  I  took  my 
daughter,  as  soon  as  I  could  with  decency  leave,  and  went 
on  a  visit  to  some  relatives  in  Southern  Utah,  saying  fare- 
well to  my  domestic  circle,  without  one  regret." 

Yet  even  this  separation  was  of  short  duration,  for  just 
about  that  time  came  the  famous  w  move  to  the  South," 


WNO  ODDS  OF  UNCLE  SAM  OR  THE  DEVIL."     341 

which  every  Salt  Lake  "City  resident  will  remember  —  many 
of  them  to  their  sorrow. 

In  1857  there  was  a  prospect  of  United  States  troops 
being  sent  to  the  Territory,  and  Brigham  determined  to 
resist  them.  In  a  public  speech  on  the  24th  of  July,  the 
day  celebrated  by  the  Mormon  Church  as  the  anniversary 
of  their  first  entrance  into  the  Valley,  he  said,  "God  is  with 
us,  and  I  ask  no  odds  of  Uncle  Sam  or  the  devil." 

When  it  was  ascertained  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  United 
States  troops  were  on  the  way,  he  counselled  every  warlike 
preparation  to  be  be  made.  Business  was  suspended ;  an 
adobe  wall  was  built  back  of  the  city  for  protection  against 


REMAINS  OF  ADOBE  DEFENCES. 


Johnson's  army ;  the  elders  on  missions  were  ordered  home 
at  once,  and  all  the  people  turned  their  attention  to  the  task 
of  repelling  the  invasion.  "For,"  said  Brigham,  "they 
SHALL  NOT  enter  the  Valley."  He  issued  a  proclamation, 
forbidding  all  armed  forces  from  entering  the  Territory, 
and  martial  law  was  also  proclaimed. 

The  latter  part  of  the  winter  the  Mormons  received  a  visit 
from  Colonel  Thomas  S.  Kane,  of  Philadelphia.  He  had  be- 
fore this  proved  his  friendship  for  the  Saints,  and  was  respect- 
ed and  listened  to  accordingly.  It  is  supposed  the  colonel 
convinced  Brigham  that  he  was  not  yet  strong  enough  to 
conquer  the  United  States,  and  advised  a  change  of  tactics. 


342  THE    SAINTS    GO    SOUTH. 

At  all  events,  directly  after  his  departure,  Brigham  began 
to  talk  of  going  south;  he  said  he  did  not  know  where  he 
should  go;  perhaps  to  the  desert  —  "wherever  the  Lord 
should  direct." 

Satisfied  that  it  would  be  better  not  to  fight,  I  suppose  he 
thought  when  the  snow  melted  it  would  be  impossible  to  keep 
the  army  out ;  therefore  he  issued  orders  to  the  Saints  to 
pack  up  and  take  their  flight.  They  obeyed  the  command, 
some  going  only  thirty  miles,  others  going  three  hundred ; 
in  fact,  they  were  scattered  along  all  through  the  southern 
settlements.  In  direct  contradiction  to  his  assertions  made 
in  the  Tabernacle,  everything  was  left  standing  —  not  even 
a  tree  or  a  stack  of  hay  being  burned.  This  move  south 
brought  our  family  together  again  under  one  roof,  and  we 
remained  together  until  the  church  was  recalled. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Saints  from  Salt  Lake,  the 
troops  passed  through ;  but  they  interfered  with  nothing : 
no  spirit  of  retaliation  was  shown  for  all  they  had  endured 
through  the  past  winter. 

Nearly  the  entire  summer  was  spent  in  the  move  south, 
and  in  August,  Brigham  notified  the  people  that  he  was 
going  back,  but  that  "  others  might  do  as  they  pleased." 
All  that  could  do  so  returned  to  their  homes  at  once ;  others 
went  when  circumstances  would  permit ;  having  been  living 
from  March  until  August  in  tents,  wagons,  or  in  the  open 
air,  they  were  glad  to  return.  The  people  were  poor,  and 
dependent  on  their  labor  for  sustenance,  and  could  not  well 
afford  the  time  for  this  flitting ;  yet  they  obeyed  Brigham 
implicitly,  asking  no  questions  and  hazarding  no  objections. 

With  the  return  to  the  city  our  family  was  again  divided. 
My  mother  was  urged  to  go  to  Payson,  and  re-open  her 
school,  which  she  had  relinquished  on  my  father's  return 
from  Europe.  She  decided  to  do  so,  and  the  people  fur- 
nished a  dwelling-house  for  her,  and  she  and  I  commenced 
living  our  old  cosy  life  again.  We  had  occasional  visits 
from  different  members  of  our  family,  and  the  first  summer 


BRIGHAM    PUTS    MONEY    IN    HIS    PURSE.  343 

that  we  were  there,  one  of  the  younger  wives,  while  on  a  visit, 
increased  our  already  somewhat  numerous  family  by  giving 
birth  to  a  daughter,  and,  in  addition  to  her  school  duties,  my 
mother  performed  the  several  offices  of  cook,  housekeeper, 
and  nurse,  until  she  was  able  to  return  home. 

In  the  mean  time,  affairs  in  Salt  Lake  City  had  assumed 
their  usual  quiet.  The  troops  were  camped  about  forty 
miles  from  Salt  Lake,  in  Cedar  Valley.  They  called  the 
station  Camp  Floyd.  While  they  remained  in  the  Terri- 
tory, some  of  the  Saints,  wishing  to  dispose  of  their  produce, 
sold  a  large  quantity  to  the  troops,  and  were  well  paid  for 


MORMONS  SELLING  PROVISIONS  TO  UNITED  STATES  TROOPS. 

it.  Brigham  heard  of  it,  and  the  very  next  Sunday  forbade 
their  selling  any  more,  and  cursed  all  those  who  had  had 
dealings  with  our  enemies,  as  he  called  those  men  who  had 
respected  the  honor  of  their  government  and  spared  the 
people  who  had  so  injured  them. 

It  was  not  long  before  it  was  whispered  that  Brigham  had 
agents  in  Camp  Floyd  selling  tithing  flour  and  lumber; 
taking  large  contracts,  and  obtaining  large  prices.  But  in 
the  meanwhile  he  did  not  relax  his  severity  towards  his 
people.  The  bishops  were  ordered  to  withdraw  the  hand 
of  fellowship  from  every  person  in  their  wards  who  traded 
at  Camp  Floyd.  It  was  a  sure  sign  of  apostasy  to  be 


344  THE    CHURCH    LIQUOR   STORE. 

seen  there  at  all,  on  any  errand  whatever;  yet  the  church 
teams  started  from  the  tithing-office,  loaded  with  flour,  in 
the  night,  and  it  was  known  that  Brigham  received  large 
sums  of  money  from  the  government  in  payment. 

In  this,  as  in  everything  else,  he  was  determined  to  have 
the  monopoly.  If  there  was  any  money  to  be  made,  he 
must  make  it.  He  could  not  endure  to  see  a  dollar  go  into 
another  man's  pocket.  I  believe  the  sight  was  positive 
pain  to  him.  This  incarnation  of  selfish  greed  is  made 
absolutely  miserable  by  the  prosperity  of  another,  and  he 
takes  speedy  measures  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  as  he  did  in  the 
case  of  Moon  and  Badly,  the  distillers,  whom  he  sent  to  the 
south  on  missions,  and  also  in  the  affair  with  Mr.  Howard, 
whose  distillery  he  took  possession  of  in  the  same  manner, 
after  having  declared  that  it  ought  to  be  burned  down,  and 
the  machinery  destroyed. 

After  Howard  was  well  out  of  the  way  (in  England,  I 
think) ,  Brigham  started  the  distillery  again  in  the  "church's  " 
interest,  which,  as  he  represents  the  church,  meant  him- 
self. And  over  the  door  he  placed  as  a  sign  the  All-seeing 
eye,  with  the  inscription,  "HOLINESS  TO  THE  LORD.  Zi- 
ON'S  CO-OPERATIVE  MERCANTILE  INSTITUTION.  WHOLE- 
SALE LIQUOR-DEALERS  AND  RECTIFIERS."  His  whiskey 
was  not  nearly  so  good  as  Howard's,  but  he  got  as  much 
money  for  it ;  so  what  did  he  care  about  the  quality  ? 

More  fortunate  than  either  Mr.  Moon  or  Mr.  Badly, 
Mr.  Howard  returned  from  his  mission ;  but  he  has  ever 
since  been  an  enemy  to  the  Prophet,  who,  by  the  way,  still 
runs  the  distillery. 

Mention  having  been  made  of  the  President's  "  Improved 
Carriages,"  I  think  they  deserve  a  more  extended  notice, 
coming,  as  they  do,  under  the  head  of  Brigham's  sublime 
failures.  He  had  purchased  the  contract  for  carrying  the 
mails  from  Independence,  Missouri,  to  Salt  Lake  City;  so 
he  decided  to  run  an  express  between  these  two  points,  to 
be  called  "B.  Young's  Express,"  for  the  purpose  of  carry- 


BUILDING    CARS    BY    INSPIRATION.  345 

ing  passengers,  freight,  and  the  mails.  He  wanted  the 
assistance  of  my  father  in  preparing  the  train,  and  although 
the  latter  was  very  much  averse  to  leaving  his  family  again 
so  soon  after  his  return  to  them  from  his  four  years  in  Eng- 
land, yet  he  was,  of  course,  overcome  by  the  pressing  elo- 
quence of  his  leader. 

It  was  very  necessary  that  he  should  enter  at  once  into 
some  lucrative  business,  as  his  family  was  large,  increased 
recently  by  the  Prophet's  orders ;  and  when  he  informed 
Brigham  of  the  necessity  of  instant  and  remunerative  labor, 
he  was  informed  that  this  would  be  the  most  profitable  un- 
dertaking in  which  he  could  engage,  and  gave  him  to 
understand  that  he  would  be  well  remunerated  for  his  ser- 
vices. 

It  is  by  this  time  a  well-established  fact  among  the 
Saints  —  taking  his  word  for  it  merely  —  that  Brigham 
Young  knows  how  to  do  everything.  Therefore  no  one 
will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  he  understood  all  about 
wagon  and  carriage  building,  and  nothing  could  be  more 
natural  than  that  he  should  produce  plans  representing  the 
manner  in  which  the  carriages  should  be  built.  These  de- 
signs, with  the  most  minute  instructions,  covering  several 
sheets  of  foolscap,  were  laid  before  my  father,  and  he  ven- 
tured to  suggest  that  there  might  be  some  slight  alterations 
which  would  be  for  the  better ;  but  he  was  met  with  the 
sharp  and  abusive  reply,  that  "  there  must  not,  on  any  con- 
sideration, be  the  least  variation  from  this  plan."  Brigham 
insisted  that  it  should  be  adhered  to  in  every  particular. 
He  became  very  much  elated,  and  made  use  of  all  his 
magniloquence  in  describing  the  ease  and  comfort  with 
which  passengers  might  cross  the  plains  in  one  of  his  car- 
riages, saying,  "They  will  be  just  as  comfortable  as  though 
they  were  at  home  in  their  own  parlors." 

Father  said  no  more,  but  pocketed  the  plans,  and  started 
East  with  them,  quite  certain  what  the  result  would  be. 
When  he  arrived  in  Chicago  he  presented  the  Prophet's 


346  EXCUSE    FOR    A   BAD 

model  to  every  carriage-maker  in  the  city,  and  they  only 
laughed  very  heartily  over  it.  They  said  they  had  never 
seen  anything  like  it,  which  was  true  enough,  as  it  bore  not 
the  slightest  resemblance  to  anything  on  the  earth,  or  in 
the  heavens  above,  or  the  waters  beneath.  It  was  most 
decidedly  "unique  and  only."  They  all  declined  to  under- 
take the  work,  knowing  that  it  must  prove  a  failure.  Fi- 
nally, however,  a  Mr.  Schuttler,  being  anxious  to  secure 
the  Utah  trade,  consented  to  try  two  of  them,  on  condition 
that  my  father  should  render  constant  assistance,  not  feel- 
ing exactly  safe  to  proceed  in  so  important  an  undertaking 
without  the  aid  of  a  Mormon  who  was  supposed  to  know 
more  about  it  than  himself.  The  orders  were  to  build  four- 
teen carriages,  besides  a  train  of  wagons.  Schuttler's 
wagons  being  ordered  by  the  Prophet,  of  course  there  was 
no  difficulty  about  them. 

When  the  two  carriages  were  ready  for  transportation, 
they  entirely  filled  a  railway  car.  If  my  father  had  fol- 
lowed directions,  and  had  the  entire  fourteen  made,  he  must 
have  chartered  seven  cars  to  convey  them  to  the  frontiers. 
These  nondescript  affairs  were  the  amusement  of  all  the 
passengers  on  the  train.  As  they  found  no  passengers  at 
the  frontiers,  except  "Uncle  Sam's  troops,"  the  carriages 
were  filled  with  freight ;  and  I  believe  the  wreck  of  one 
of  them  reached  Salt  Lake  City  the  following  year,  after 
peace  had  been  made  with  the  government.  The  Prophet 
was  satisfied  with  the  two,  and  ordered  no  more  built;  his 
"  revelation  "  had  proved  a  great  failure,  and  owing  to  the 
rebellion,  the  mail  contract  was  taken  from  him.  He  laid 
the  entire  failure  to  the  United  States  troops,  although  it 
would  puzzle  a  person  of  less  acute  perceptions  than  he  to 
discover  how  the  one  had  anything  to  do  with  the  other. 
When  a  "  revelation"  fails,  there  must  be  some  excuse, 
some  reason  for  it,  and  President  Young  is  never  at  fault 
for  one  ;  whether  a  valid  one  or  not,  it  seems  to  make  little 
difference. 


PROFITS    BY    HIS    FAULTS. 


347 


Those  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  see  one  of  those  car- 
riages in  its  entirety,  say  that  no  one  could  form  any  idea 
of  them  without  seeing  them,  and  that  the  only  way  to 
get  an  adequate  idea  of  the  size  would  be  to  take  the  di- 
mensions of  a  w  Prairie  Schooner,"  and  multiply  them  by 
five. 

The  wagons  proved  a  success,  as  they  were  loaded  with 
freight  for  Salt  Lake  merchants,  for  which  they  paid  twen- 
ty-five cents  a  pound ;  and  those  wagons  that  came  through 
with  my  father  brought  no  less  than  five  thousand  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars'  worth  of  freight  for  the  Prophet. 


BRIGHAM'S  FOLLY. —  "THE  PRAIRIE  SCHOONER." 

It  is  a  poor  plan  that  does  not  enrich  him ;  he  seems, 
in  some  way  or  other,  to  make  money  out  of  his  very 
failures. 

After  my  father's  recovery  from  his  illness  he  presented 
his  accounts  for  the  Prophet's  inspection,  and  expected  an 
immediate  settlement,  and  his  promised  pay ;  instead  of 
which,  he  was  quietly  informed  that  his  services  were  to 
be  a  gratuity  to  the  church,  and  at  the  same  time  he  was 
presented  by  the  Prophet  with  a  bill  from  the  express  com- 
pany for  bringing  his  trunk  of  clothing  through. 

While  in  Chicago,  he  had  sent  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  of  freight  home  for  the  family's  use,  and  they 
would  not  let  my  mother  have  it  until  she  had  paid  the  full 


348  MY   FATHER   MARRIES    HIS    SIXTH   WIFE. 

freight-charges.  The  clerks  told  her  that  "this  was  Presi- 
dent Young's  order,  and  they  dared  not  disobey."  Mother 
afterwards  said  that  she  believed  the  clerks  saw  the  injus- 
tice of  the  whole  proceeding,  yet  were  powerless  to  do 
otherwise  than  according  to  their  orders. 

A  man  that  had  literally  worn  himself  out  in  the  service 
of  Brigham  Young  could  not  be  permitted  to  send  a  few 
of  the  necessaries  of  life  to  his  family,  nor  even  a  trunk  of 
linen,  used  on  a  journey  for  this  man,  without  paying 
freight,  and  that  when  they  came  in  wagons  which  he  had 
helped  to  build,  and  that  gratuitously,  for  the  aggrandize- 
ment of  the  church,  or,  to  be  more  exact,  of  the  man  who 
was  constantly  crying,  "  Give,  give,"  and  was  yet  never 
satisfied.  A  man  of  our  acquaintance,  who  had  been  sim- 
larly  swindled,  said,  in  referring  to  the  subject,  '"Brigham 
Young  would  rob  the  King  of  heaven  of  His  crown-jew- 
els if  he  had  the  opportunity." 

It  was  the  unfortunate  termination  of  this  "  business  ar- 
rangement "  with  the  Prophet  that  decided  my  mother  to 
resume  teaching  again  ;  but  when  my  father  was  again  in 
business,  he  was  so  urgent  that  my  mother  should  return 
to  Salt  Lake,  that,  a  little  while  before  my  sixteenth  birth- 
day, we  went  there  again  to  live. 


CHAPTER    XXL 


GOING  THROUGH  THE  "ENDOWMENT-HOUSE."  — I  TAKE 
THE   MYSTERIOUS    BATHS. 

No  Physic  among  the  Saints.  —  I  am  taken  Sick.  —  Heber  C.  Kimball  rec- 
ommends "  Endowments."  —  How  Brigham  Murdered  his  little  Grand- 
daughter. —  The  Prophet  wants  a  Doctor.  —  Being  "  administered " 
To.  —  I  am  Re-baptized.  —  Receive  my  Endowments.  —  How  Saintly 
Sins  are  Washed  Away.  —  Undignified  Conduct  of  Elders.  —  The  Or- 
der of  Melchisedec.  —  How  I  was  "  Confirmed."  —  To  become  a  Celes- 
tial Queen.  —  I  go  down  to  the  Endowment-House.  —  The  Mysterious 
Ceremonies  Described.  —  The  Veil  at  last  Lifted.  —  The  Secrets  of  the 
Endowment-House  Exposed.  —  I  enter  the  Bath.  —  Miss  Snow  Washes 
Me.  —  She  Anoints  Me  All  Over.  —  I  dress  in  a  Bed-gown.  —  The 
•'  Peculiar  Garment "  of  the  Saints.  —  What  the  Mormon  Girls  do 
about  It— "Going  through"  without  a  Husband.  — "A  Great  Shout- 
ing for  Sarah  !  " 

HEN  I  was  about  sixteen 
years  old,  I  was  very 
ill,  and  my  mother,  her 
fears  for  the  life  and 
welfare  of  her  only 
daughter  always  on 
the  alert,  became  very 
anxious,  and,  indeed, 
almost  ill  herself  in 

her  concern  for  me. 

According  to  Mormon  custom,  I  was 

"  administered  to  "  by  the  anointing  and 

laying  on  of  hands,  but  all  to  no  avail. 

Bishop  Taft,  the  one  who  had  baptized 

TAK,NG  MY  ENDOWMENTS        me     in     m7     childhood,     Isaac     GrOO,    the 

Bishop's  counsellor,  and  Elder  Samuel 
Hardy    labored    earnestly    and    long,    and    "wrestled    in 


35O  BRIGHAM    MURDERS    HIS    GRANDDAUGHTER. 

prayer"  over  me,  all  to  no  avail.  I  grew  worse,  rather 
than  better,  and  my  family  feared  I  should  fall  into  pul- 
monary consumption. 

The  idea  of  employing  a  regular  physician  seemed  never 
to  occur  to  any  of  them.  Indeed,  at  that  time  it  was  con- 
sidered the  surest  sign  of  a  weakening  of  faith  to  resort  to 
medical  aid,  and  no  Mormon  in  good  standing  would  ever 
entertain  the  suggestion  for  a  moment.  Latterly,  however, 
a  great  deal  of  this  nonsense  has  been  done  away  with, 
under  the  subtle  Gentile  influence  that  is  working  through- 
out Utah,  in  Salt  Lake  City  more  especially,  and  some  of 
the  young  Saints  are  actually  studying  for  the  medical  pro- 
fession. Brigham  used  to  denounce  physicians  in  the  most 
wholesale  manner  in  the  Tabernacle,  and  declare  that  they 
should  never  enter  heaven,  but  that  he  would  himself  close 
the  doors  against  them. 

He  was  so  bitter  at  that  time  that  he  would  allow  none 
of  his  family  to  employ  medical  aid  in  any  emergency.  A 
little  granddaughter  of  his,  a  child  of  one  of  his  daugh- 
ters, took  some  poison  that  her  mother  had  prepared  to 
exterminate  rats  with.  Brigham  was  sent  for,  and  when 
he  arrived  he  found  a  physician  there,  preparing  to  admin- 
ister to  the  child  in  the  usual  manner.  He  rudely  turned 
him  out  of  doors,  saying  that  he  would  care  for  the  child 
himself;  that  no  doctor  should  be  allowed  to  worry  her; 
and  his  "care,"  as  usual,  consisted  of  the  laying  on  of 
hands  —  not  a  very  energetic  or  efficacious  mode  of  treat- 
ing a  poisoning  case.  The  agonized  parents  dared  not 
interfere,  and  in  a  few  moments  their  child  died  before  their 
very  eyes,  in  the  most  terrible  agony  and  distress,  an  inno- 
cent victim  to  the  Prophet's  egotism  and  bigotry. 

That  was  Brigham  Young  well.  Brigham  Young  ill  is 
another  person.  In  his  variableness  of  opinion  he  reminds 
one  very  forcibly  of  the  dignitary  treated  of  in  the  some- 
what profane  epigram,  — 


DOCTORING    THE    PROPHET  I  351 

"  The  devil  was  sick  ; 

The  devil  a  monk  would  be : 
The  devil  got  well ; 

The  devil  a  monk  was  he." 

Whenever  he  has  any  ailment,  a  doctor  is  summoned  at 
once ;  and  during  his  illness,  a  little  over  a  year  since,  he 
employed  at  least  half  a  dozen,  keeping  them  in  constant 
consultation,  so  great  was  his  terror,  and  so  absolute  his 
horror  of  fatal  consequences. 

But  when  I  was  so  ill,  the  Prophet  was  in  the  best  of 
health,  and  was  indulging  in  the  bitterest  invectives  against 
physicians  and  all  who  employed  them ;  and  my  mother, 
great  and  all-pervading  as  her  affection  was  for  me,  and 
anxiously  troubled  as  she  was  concerning  my  restoration 
to  health,  would  have  been  shocked  and  grieved  beyond 
measure,  had  any  one  proposed  to  her  to  seek  medical 
advice  concerning  my  condition.  I  was  "in  the  hands  of 
the  Lord,"  and  I  was  to  be  left  there,  for  Him  to  do  with 
me  as  He  would. 

When  it  was  found  that  being  K  administered  to  "  did  no 
good  in  my  case,  Heber  C.  Kimball  advised  that  I  receive 
my  "Endowments,"  promising  that  then  I  should  surely  be 
fully  restored  to  health.  This  was  considered  as  a  very 
great  favor,  since,  outside  of  Brigham  Young's  and  one  or 
two  other  official  families,  no  young  persons  are  given  their 
Endowments.  My  mother  was  overjoyed,  and  considered 
the  bestowal  of  this  honor  a  special  interposition  of  Prov- 
idence on  my  behalf.  As  a  matter  of  course,  I  shared  her 
feelings  most  fully.  I  had  always  been  taught  to  anticipate 
the  time  when  I  should  receive  my  Endowments  as  the  most 
important  epoch  of  my  religious  life,  when  I  should  be 
taken  fully  into  the  bosom  of  the  church. 

It  was  necessary,  in  order  to  receive  these  rites,  that  I 
should  be  re-baptized.  Remembering  my  childish  experi- 
ence, and  the  terror  which  I  suffered,  I  must  confess  that  I 


352  I    AM    DIPPED    AGAIN. 

dreaded,  in  my  weakened  state  of  health,  that  portion  of 
the  ceremony,  and  I  grew  quite  nervous  over  it  before  the 
day  arrived  on  which  that  rite  was  to  be  performed.  I  was 
reassured  on  one  point,  however.  The  pond  experience 
was  not  to  be  repeated,  but  I  was  to  be  baptized  in  the 
Twelfth  Ward  font,  which  made  it  seem  much  less  formi- 
dable, and  divested  it  of  half  its  terror. 

On  the  day  appointed  I  was  taken  to  the  Twelfth  Ward 
meeting-house  by  my  mother,  where  we  met  Isaac  Groo, 
who  was  to  baptize  me.  I  was  half  frightened,  and  wholly 
awed,  and  very  nervous;  but  my  ardent  desire  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  my  health  gave  me  a  sort  of  bravery  and 


MORMON  BAPTISM. 

endurance,  so  that  I  was  quite  calm,  and  behaved  myself 
very  well,  considering  the  unnaturally  excited  state  which 
I  was  in. 

The  ordinance  of  baptism,  as  administered  by  the  Mor- 
mons, does  not  differ  very  materially  from  that  of  the  Bap- 
tist churches.  It  is  always  by  immersion.  Nothing  else  is 
ever  considered  efficacious.  It  must  be  a  literal  "watery 
burial,"  and  a  resurrection  therefrom.  The  officiating  elder, 
with  his  candidate  for  the  rite,  repairs  to  some  place  which 
has  been  previously  appointed,  and  where  there  is  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  water  to  immerse  the  entire  person.  Not 


WATERY  !  353 

the  least  portion  of  the  body  must  be  left  above  the  purifying 
fluid,  else  it  could  not  be  termed  a  "  perfect  burial  with 
Christ."  In  the  early  days  it  was  necessary  to  perform  this 
ordinance  in  the  open  air,  in  some  river  or  pond ;  but  lately 
fonts  have  been  built  in  most  ward  meeting-houses,  so  that 
it  can  all  be  done  under  cover,  and  there  is  less  danger  of 
suffering  ill  results  from  exposure. 

The  elder  officiating  takes  the  candidate  by  the  hand  and 
leads  him  —  or  her,  as  the  case  may  be  —  down  into  the 
water,  until  a  sufficient  depth  is  attained ;  he  then  raises  his 
hand,  and,  calling  the  person  by  name,  commences  the 
ceremony  as  follows :  "  Having  authority  given  me  of 
Jesus  Christ,  I  baptize  you  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen."  He  then  plunges 
the  candidate  under  the  water,  bringing  him  forth  into  the 
newness  of  life,  and  fully  prepared  to  enter  upon  a  series  of 
ordinances,  all  of  which  are  attended  with  covenants  calcu- 
lated to  bind  the  person  more  strongly  to  the  church. 

Following  the  baptism  comes  the  confirmation,  or  the 
laying  on  of  hands  for  the  reception  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It 
is  usually  administered  directly  after  the  first  rite,  and  at 
the  same  place ;  but  I  was  so  ill  and  weak  that  I  was  taken 
directly  home,  and  the  elders  came  there  to  confirm  me. 
They  were  Bishop  Taft  and  Isaac  Groo,  and  they  certainly 
gave  me  every  cause  to  be  thankful  to  them  for  the  prodi- 
gality of  their  promises.  I  certainly  never  have  had  occasion 
to  be  grateful  on  account  of  their  fulfilment. 

In  the  Church  of  Latter-Day  Saints  the  "  Melchisedec  " 
and  "  Aaronic  "  priesthood  are  authorized  to  perform  the  or- 
dinance of  baptism,  but  the  latter  has  no  power  to  administer 
in  spiritual  things.  Hence  only  a  priest  after  the  holy  order 
of  the  Son  of  God,  or  the  order  of  Melchisedec,  can  per- 
form the  ordinance  of  confirmation,  or  laying  on  of  hands 
for  imparting  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  to  lead  the  new- 
born Saint  into  all  truth,  and  teach  him  the  things  to 
come ;  thus  protect  him  from  all  falsehood  and  imposition, 
23 


354  RECEIVING    GIFTS    AND    GRACES. 

and  placing  him  in  the  most  perfect  state  of  progression 
which,  if  real,  would  be  a  state  of  the  highest  felicity  and 
most  assured  salvation. 

Two  or  three  elders  lay  their  hands  upon  the  head  of  the 
person  to  be  confirmed,  one  of  whom  acts  as  a  mouthpiece 
for  the  rest,  and  pronounces  the  blessings  and  promises, 
generally  exhausting  his  full  list  of  mercies  upon  him  whom 
they  are  receiving  into  full  Sainthood.  There  are  two 
•essentials  in  this  ordinance  which  are  never  omitted  —  "I 
confirm  you  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 


MORMON  CONFIRMATION. 

Latter-Day  Saints,"  and,  "  I  also  confer  upon  you  the  Gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Oftentimes  the  elder  becomes  so  thoroughly  filled  with 
inspiration  that  he  cannot  cease  his  blessing  until  he  has 
sealed  the  young  Saint  up  to  eternal  life,  with  a  perfect 
assurance  that  he  shall  "inherit  all  the  blessings  of  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob,  with  a  fulness  of  the  holy  priesthood 
after  the  order  of  an  endless  life ;  "  thus  placing  him  be- 
yond the  possibility  of  falling  from  grace  or  missing  the 
celestial  gate  :  though  he  may  wander  from  the  fold  and 
become  bewildered  in  fogs  and  darkness,  yet  in  the  consum- 
mation of  his  mission  to  earth  he  will  find  his  way  back  to 


GOING    TO    THE    ENDOWMENT-HOUSE.  355 

the  fold  of  Christ ;  and  as  it  is  supposed  that  the  Word  of  God, 
spoken  by  the  mouth  of  His  servant,  cannot  fail,  will  inherit 
thrones,  principalities,  and  dominions,  be  made  King  and 
Priest  unto  God  and  His  Christ,  and  reign  upon  the  earth. 

The  person,  having  reached  this  high  plane  in  the  king- 
dom of  God  on  the  earth,  is  considered  properly  prepared  to 
receive  the  higher  and  holier  ordinances,  which  are  to  be 
kept  entirely  secret,  and  are  accompanied  by  the  strongest 
and  most  binding  covenants,  which  cannot  be  broken  with- 
out incurring  the  severest  penalties. 

I  was  promised  everything  that  I  could  wish ;  indeed,  I 
was  quite  overcome  by  the  magnitude  and  number  of  special 
blessings  that  was  promised  me.  First  of  all,  as  that  was  my 
most  earnest  desire,  I  was  to  have  perfect  health  bestowed 
upon  me  at  once.  I  was  to  go  on  "  from  grace  to  glory," 
in  full  saintship,  and  my  last  days  were  to  be  better  than 
my  first.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  this  portion  of  the  blessing 
promises  to  be  fulfilled,  although  by  no  means  in  the  man- 
ner that  was  intended  when  the  blessing  was  bestowed.  I, 
of  course,  could  not  be  a  King  or  Priest,  but  I  should  be  a 
"Celestial  Queen,"  with  all  the  glory,  emoluments,  and 
perquisites  which  attend  that  very  exalted,  but  somewhat 
mythical,  position.  Having  thus  settled  my  future  to  their 
evident  satisfaction,  they  left  me  fully  prepared  to  receive 
my  Endowments. 

I  was  now  all  eagerness  to  receive  my  Endowments.  If 
the  first  step  could  have  so  sudden  and  marked  an  effect  on 
me,  what  would  not  the  greatest,  the  most  important  step  of 
all,  do  for  me  !  My  faith  in  it  and  its  virtues  was  almost  sub- 
lime. I  could  scarcely  wait  for  the  next  day  to  come  —  the 
day  that  had  been  appointed  for  me  to  enter  into  the  full 
fellowship  of  the  church,  the  full  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
eternal  heirship  to  heavenly  things. 

The  morning  came,  however,  and,  with  a  heart  filled 
with  hopeful  anticipation,  I  took  my  way  to  the  Endowment- 
House  [carrying  a  lunch  and  my  Temple-robes,  which  had 


356 


PREPARING    FOR    THE    CEREMONY. 


to  be  specially  prepared  for  this  occasion],  where,  in  the 
absence  of  a  regular  Temple,  the  rites  were  performed.  I 
expected  something  solemn  and  awful ;  something  elevating 
to  the  spirit,  and  ennobling  to  the  mind.  How  I  was  disap- 
pointed, everyone  who  has  entered  the  Endowment-House 
with  feelings  similar  to  my  own  will  understand.  In  place 
of  the  awe  which  I  expected  to  find  the  rites  endowed  with, 
they  were  ridiculous  and  farcical  in  the  extreme. 

I  have  heard  persons  speak  of  the  solemnity  of  their  feel- 
ings on  the  occasion  of  taking  their  Endowments,  but,  with 
all  respect  to  their  truthfulness,  I  am  always  incredulous  in 


THE  ENDOWMENT-HOUSE. 


the  extreme.  I  think  either  their  imagination  must  have 
got  the  better  of  their  common  sense,  or  they  could  have 
had  very  little  of  the  latter  commodity  to  begin  with,  else 
they  would  have  seen  through  the  very  thin  tissue  of  ab- 
surdities which  they  are  obliged  to  witness  with  unmoved 
features,  for  to  laugh  in  the  Endowment-House  would  be  the 
most  fearful  sacrilege.  For  my  own  part,  I  was  in  a  most 
uncomfortable  frame  of  mind.  I  wanted  to  laugh ;  every- 
thing seemed  so  ridiculous ;  and  yet  all  the  while  I  was 
conscience-stricken  at  my  own  levity.  I  thought  it  must  be 
my  own  wicked  heart,  and  not  the  rites  themselves,  and  I 


OFF   WITH    OUR    SHOES  !  357 

was  constantly  upbraiding  myself  for  lack  of  spiritual  grace  ; 
and  yet  I  could  not  alter  my  feelings  in  the  least.  The  only 
thing  that  in  any  degree  overcame  my  disposition  to  laugh, 
was  the  horror  at  the  oaths  which  I  was  obliged  to  take. 
They  were  fairly  blood-curdling,  they  were  so  awful ;  and 
even  now  a  shudder  runs  through  my  whole  frame  as  I 
recall  them. 

The  Endowment  rites  are  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
drama,  founded  partially  upon  the  Bible,  but  more  upon 
Milton's  Paradise  Lost.  It  represents  the  Creation,  the 
Fall,  and  the  final  Restoration  of  Man  to  his  first  glory.  To 
speak  in  stage  parlance,  the  " different  lines  of  business" 
are  taken  by  the  leaders  of  the  church,  who  always  sustain 
the  same  characters.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  dramatis 
fersonce  at  the  time  that  I  took  my  Endowments :  — 

ELOHIM,  or  Head  God, Brigham  Young. 

JEHOVAH, Heber  C.  Kimball. 

JESUS, Daniel  H.  Wells. 

MICHAEL,  or  Adam, "W.  C.  Staines. 

SATAN, W.  W.  Phelps. 

APOSTLE  PETER, Orson  Pratt. 

APOSTLE  JAMES, John  Taylor. 

APOSTLE  JOHN, Erastus  Snow. 

WASHER, Dr.  Sprague. 

CLERK, David  O.  Calder. 

EVE, Miss  Eliza  R.  Snow. 

TIMOTHY  BROADBRIM,  a  Quaker,         .        .  Wilfred  Woodruff. 

DEACON  SMITH,  a  Methodist,   .        .        .        .  Orson  Hyde. 

PARSON  PEABODY,  a  Presbyterian,       .        .  Franklin  D.  Richards. 

ELDER  SMOOTH-TONGUE,  a  Baptist,        .        .  Phineas  H.  Young. 

FATHER  BONIFACE,  a  Catholic,     .        .        .  George  A.  Smith. 

When  I  entered  the  Endowment-House,  I  was  made,  first 
of  all,  to  take  off  my  shoes,  for  the  place  was  too  holy  to  be 
desecrated  by  outside  dust.  Having  done  this,  I  gave  my 
name  and  age,  the  names  of  my  parents,  and  date  of  bap- 
tism and  confirmation,  to  the  officiating  clerk,  who  entered 
them  all  in  a  large  book.  Several  other  persons  of  both 


358  SISTER,  PASS  ON  ! 

sexes  were  present,  and  after  all  had  been  similarly  cate- 
chized, and  their  answers  noted,  we  were  asked  to  produce 
our  bottles  of  oil,  —  for  we  had  been  instructed,  among  other 
things,  to  bring  with  us  a  bottle  of  the  best  olive-oil :  these 
were  taken  from  us ;  our  bundles  of  clothing  were  handed 
to  us  again,  and  we  were  told  to  "pass  on." 

We  entered  a  large  bath-room,  which  was  separated  in 
the  middle  by  a  heavy  curtain,  for  the  purpose  of  dividing 
the  men  from  the  women.  The  men  passed  to  one  side  of 
the  curtain,  the  women  to  the  other.  In  our  room  were 
several  large  tubs  filled  with  water,  and  Miss  Eliza  R.  Snow 
and  two  or  three  other  women  were  in  attendance.  I  was 
received  by  Miss  Snow,  who  placed  me  in  one  of  the  tubs, 
and  washed  me  from  my  head  to  my  feet,  repeating  certain 
formulas  to  the  effect  that  I  was  washed  clean  from  the  blood 
of  this  generation,  and  if  I  remained  firm  in  the  faith,  should 
never  be  harmed  by  any  of  the  ills  that  beset  the  world,  and 
which  soon  were  to  be  showered  in  terrible  profusion  upon 
the  earth.  Plagues,  pestilence  and  famine  should  cover 
the  earth,  and  be  let  loose  in  its  every  corner,  but  I  should 
be  passed  by  unscathed,  if  I  was  true  to  my  religion  —  the 
only  revealed  religion  of  God.  After  I  had  been  wiped  dry, 
she  proceeded  to  anoint  me  with  olive-oil.  As  she  did  so, 
she  repeated,  solemnly,  — 

"Sister,  I  anoint  your  head,  that  it  may  be  prepared  for 
that  crown  of  glory  awaiting  you  as  a  faithful  Saint,  and  the 
fruitful  wife  of  a  priest  of  the  Lord ;  your  forehead,  that  your 
brain  may  be  quick  of  discernment ;  your  eyes,  that  they  may 
be  quick  to  perceive  the  truth,  and  to  avoid  the  snares  of  the 
enemy  ;  your  ears,  that  they  may  be  quick  to 'hear  the  word 
of  the  Lord ;  your  mouth,  that  you  may  with  wisdom  speak 
the  words  of  eternal  life,  and  show  forth  the  praise  of  the 
immortal  gods ;  your  tongue,  to  pronounce  the  true  name 
which  will  admit  you  hereafter  behind  the  veil,  and  by  which 
you  will  be  known  in  the  celestial  kingdom.  I  anoint  your 
arms  to  labor  in  the  cause  of  righteousness,  and  your  hands 


I   AM   WELL    OILED.  359 

to  be  strong  in  building  up  the  kingdom  of  God  by  all  man- 
ner of  profitable  works.  I  anoint  your  breasts,  that  you 
may  prove  a  fruitful  vine  to  nourish  a  strong  race  of  swift 
witnesses,  earnest  in  the  defence  of  Zion ;  your  body,  to 
present  it  an  acceptable  tabernacle  when  you  come  to  pass 
behind  the  veil ;  your  loins,  that  you  may  bring  forth  a 
numerous  race  to  crown  you  with  eternal  glory,  and 
strengthen  the  heavenly  kingdom  of  your  husband,  your 
master,  and  crown  in  the  Lord.  I  anoint  your  knees,  on 
which  to  prostrate  yourself,  and  humbly  receive  the  truth 
from  God's  holy  priesthood ;  your  feet,  to  run  swiftly  in  the 
ways  of  righteousness,  and  stand  firm  upon  the  appointed 
places.  And  now  I  pronounce  your  body  an  acceptable 
temple  for  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

As  may  be  imagined,  I  was  literally  besmeared  with  oil 
from  my  head  to  my  feet.  I  breathed  it,  smelled  it,  tasted 
it ;  it  ran  into  my  eyes,  and  made  them  smart  fearfully,  and 
dripped  in  any  but  an  agreeable  manner  from  my  hair.  I 
was  fairly  saturated  with  it ;  was  cognizant  of  nothing  else ; 
and  I  was  so  nauseated  from  it  that  I  could  scarcely  go  on 
with  the  ceremonies.  I  got  a  distaste  for  it  then  that  I  have 
never  got  over,  and  to  this  day  even  the  sight  of  it  makes 
me  ill. 

After  the  washing  and  anointing,  I  was  given  a  garment 
which  I  was  told  to  put  on,  and  charged,  after  once  assum- 
ing it,  that  I  must  never  leave  it  off.  When  it  became 
necessary  to  change,  I  must  take  off  one  side,  then  put 
the  fresh  one  in  its  place ;  then  I  could  drop  the  soiled  one 
altogether,  and  get  the  fresh  one  on  as  soon  as  possible. 
So  long  as  I  wore  it,  I  was  free  from  danger,  and  even  from 
death.  Disease  should  not  assail  me,  and  neither  shot  nor 
the  assassin's  knife  should  have  power  to  harm  me ;  all 
should  be  turned  one  side.  Every  good  Mormo'n  wears  this 
garment,  and  is  very  superstitious  about  allowing  it  off.  It 
is  said  that  Smith  never  would  have  been  killed  had  it  not 
been  that  he  left  off  this  charmed  garment  when  he  went  to 


360 

Carthage.  Had  he  allowed  it  to  remain  on,  the  balls  of 
the  murderers  would  have  been  utterly  powerless  to  harm 
him. 

There  is  nothing  elegant  about  this  garment ;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  is  quite  ugly,  and  the  young  Saints  who  assume  it 
dislike  it  terribly  for  its  plainness  and  awkwardness.  In 
shape,  it  is  like  a  child's  sleeping-robe,  with  the  waist  and 
drawers  combined,  and  reaches  from  the  neck  to  the  feet. 
It  is  of  white,  bleached  muslin,  and  untrimmed.  Latterly, 
some  of  the  younger  daughters  of  Brigham  Young,  and 
other  young  ladies  of  the  Mormon  Ion  ton,  have  instituted  a 
reform,  and,  to  the  horror  of  the  older  ones,  —  who  are  not 
given  over  to  the  "pomps  and  vanities,"  &c.,  —  have  had 
their  garments  cut  shorter,  low  in  the  neck,  and  short- 
sleeved,  and  elaborately  trimmed.  Of  course  the  majority 
of  the  people,  who  have  known  of  this  innovation,  have 
been  terribly  scandalized;  but  all  to  no  avail.  Mormon 
girls,  like  girls  of  the  world,  object  to  making  guys  of 
themselves ;  and  neither  "  counsel w  nor  ridicule  can  affect 
them  when  once  their  minds  are  made  up  on  the  subject  of 
dress.  They  will  suffer  for  that  what  they  will  not  for  their 
religion. 

Mine,  of  course,  was  made  after  the  true  orthodox  fashion. 
Over  it  I  wore  a  white  night-gown  and  skirt,  and  on  my 
feet  white  stockings  and  white  linen  shoes.  My  Temple 
robe  was  the  last  to  be  donned.  It  is  a  long,  loose,  flowing 
robe  of  homespun  linen,  falling  to  the  ankle,  and  at  the 
top  plaited  into  a  band,  which  passes  over  the  right  shoulder, 
and  is  fastened  under  the  left  arm ;  it  was  girdled  by  a 
white  linen  belt :  the  cap,  which  accompanies  it,  is  a  simple 
square  of  linen,  or  muslin,  gathered  in  one  corner  to  fit  the 
head ;  the  remainder  falls  down  over  the  back  of  the  head, 
like  a  veil.' 

While  all  this  washing  and  robing  was  going  on  on  one 
side  of  the  curtain,  the  same  things  were  being  done  on  the 
opposite  side.  I  suppose  we  could  hear  the  murmur  of 


SHOUTING   FOR   SARAH  !  361 

voices  and  the  splash  of  water;  but  everything  was  quiet 
and  subdued,  and  the  most  perfect  order  reigned. 

When  we  were  all  ready,  a  name  was  secretly  given  to 
each  one  of  us,  which  was  the  name  by  which  we  were  to  be 
known  in  the  celestial  world,  and  which  was  to  be  told  only 
to  the  man  who  should  take  us  through  the  veil.  If  a 
woman  was  married,  her  husband  took  her  through  ;  if  not, 
some  brother  kindly  performed  the  office  for  her,  and  he 
was  rewarded  for  his  kindness  by  having  the  young  Saint's 
celestial  name  whispered  confidingly  in  his  ear.  I  was  not 
married;  so  Elder  Samuel  Richards  took  me  through,  and 
I  told  him  my  name,  —  and,  by  the  way,  he  was  the  only 
person  who  ever  knew  it  until  after  my  apostasy,  as  I  never 
told  it  to  either  of  my  husbands. 

It  is  believed  that  as  the  husband  has  to  "resurrect"  his 
wife  by  her  Endowment  name,  so  it  is  rather  necessary  that 
he  should  know  it.  Consequently,  when  he  is  sealed  to 
her,  she  is  permitted  to  whisper  her  name  to  him  through 
the  veil,  and  after  that  it  must  be  spoken  no  more  between 
them  until  he  shall  call  her  by  it  on  the  morning  of  the  final 
resurrection.  If  the  Mormon  doctrine  were  true,  there  would 
be  a  mighty  shouting  for  "  Sarah  "  at  that  time,  as  every 
person  whose  name  I  have  heard  was  always  called  the 
same.  It  was  the  name  that  was  given  me,  and  I  have 
known  many  others  who  received  it.  It  certainly  will  make 
the  husband's  work  at  that  time  much  lighter,  since  he  need 
call  but  once  to  summon  his  entire  family. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


WE    CARRY   ON    THE    ENDOWMENT    DRAMA.  —  I   AM 
FULLY   INITIATED. 

In  the  Endowment-House.  —  How  the  "  Kings  and  Priests  "  appeared  in 
their  Shirts.  —  The  poor  Fellows  "  feel  Bad  !  "—  The  "  Gods  "  hold  a 
Conversazione.  —  Michael  is  sent  down  to  Earth.  —  The  "  Tree  of  Life." 

—  How  Raisins  grew  instead  of  Apples.  —  Not  good  to  be  Alone.  —  The 
Rib  abstracted  and  little  Eve  made.  —  The  Devil  dressed  in  "  Tights." 

—  John  D.  Lee  once  a  Devil.  —  Eve's  Flirtation.  —  She  eats  Forbidden 
Fruit.  —  Tempts  her  Husband.  —  Fig-leaves  come  into  Fashion.  —  We 
hide  in  Holes  and  Corners  —  The  Devil  is  Cursed  and  we  are  Lectured. 

—  The  Second  Degree.  —  Story  of  a  Pugnacious  Woman.  —  The  Terri- 
ble Oaths  of  the  Endowment-House.  —  Pains  and  Penalties.  —  Signs 
and  Grips.  —  "  Good-bye  !  "  —  Brother  Heber  gives  me  Advice. 

FTER  our  names  had  been 
given  us,  Miss  Snow  an- 
nounced that  we  were 
ready,  in  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion from  the  other  side  of 
the  curtain.  We  were  ar- 
ranged in  a  row  facing  it, 
when  it  was  suddenly  with- 
drawn, and  we  were  stand- 
ing face  to  face  with  the 
men.  The  sight  that  met 
our  eyes  was  very  funny, 
and  I  had  all  I  could  do 
to  keep  my  features  de- 
cently straight.  I  looked 
out  from  under  my  eyelids, 

for  I  did  not  dare  give  a  good,  square,  honest  look  ;  it  would 
have  been  altogether  too  much  for  my  gravity ;  but  from 
my  stolen  looks  I  found  that  the  men,  over  their  new  gar- 


THE  DEVIL  OF  THE  ENDOWMENT-HOUSE. 


THE  "KINGS  AND  PRIESTS"  IN  THEIR  SHIRTS.      363 

ment  of  protection,  wore  a  shirt  only.  On  their  feet  were 
white  socks  and  white  linen  shoes.  The  cap  was  of  white 
linen,  in  shape  exactly  like  those  worn  by  stonemasons, 
and  tied  by  a  knot  in  front.  They  were  certainly  no  more 
beautiful  in  appearance  than  we  women,  and,  as  is  gener- 
ally the  case  in  embarrassing  circumstances,  were  much 
less  at  their  ease. 

We  were  all  conducted  into  another  room,  where  we 
were  seated  opposite  each  other.  We  remained  quiet  for  a 
few  moments,  getting  used  to  the  situation  and  our  clothes, 
I  suppose.  Suddenly  the  silence  was  broken  by  voices  in 
conversation.  The  persons  who  were  carrying  it  on  were 
concealed ;  but  by  listening  intently  we  discovered  that  it 
was  Elohim  in  conversation  with  Jehovah,  and  he  was  de- 
scribing the  creation  of  the  world.  His  description  was 
taken  mainly  from  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  The  Gods 
then  decide  to  visit  the  earth  and  see  the  works  of  their 
hands.  This  they  do,  and  seem  quite  satisfied  with  the 
results  of  their  labors  ;  but  they  decide  that  it  is  necessary 
to  place  a  ruler  over  the  brute  creation,  since  they  must  be 
governed  and  brought  under  the  control  of  a  superior  order 
of  intelligence. 

The  Gods  continue  their  discussions,  and  Michael  the 
Archangel  is  called  and  given  control  of  "the  earth  and 
all  that  therein  is."  The  brute  creation  is  to  be  subject  to 
him ;  the  fruits  of  the  earth  shall  yield  abundantly  for  his 
sustenance.  Of  all  these  he  is  free  to  partake,  with  one 
single  exception  :  he  shall  not  eat  of  the  fruit  of  a  tree 
which  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  garden. 

This  tree  is  represented  by  a  small  evergreen,  on  the 
branches  of  which  are  tied  apples,  raisins,  oranges,  or 
bunches  of  grapes,  as  may  happen.  The  fruit  on  the  oc- 
casion of  my  passing  through  was  raisins. 

Michael  —  or  Adam,  as  he  is  now  called  —  finds  his  new 
abode  rather  a  lonesome  place,  in  spite  of  its  beauty ;  and 
even  the  knowledge  of  his  power  over  all  about  him  does  not 


364         THE    RIB    ABSTRACTED LITTLE    EVE    MADE. 


prevent  him  from  longing  for  companionship.  The  Gods, 
too,  decide  that  it  is  not  good  for  him  to  be  alone ;  and  as 
there  is  nothing  on  earth  that  is  sufficiently  near  an  equality 
with  him  to  be  admitted  to  an  intimate  friendship,  it  is  de- 
termined to  give  him  a  companion  created  specially  for  him. 
A  profound  slumber  falls  upon  him,  and  we  were  all  told  at 
that  time  to  feign  sleep  also,  which  we  did.  Elohim  and 
Jehovah  then  make  their  first  visible  appearance,  and  go 
through  the  form  of  taking  a  rib  from  Adam's  side,  and  on 
the  instant  appears  Eve,  in  the  person  of  Miss  Eliza  R. 
Snow. 

At  this  point  we  were  told  to  wake  up,  and  instantly 

every  Adam  present  appro- 
priated to  himself  an  Eve, 
and,  led  by  the  chief  Adam 
and  his  bride,  we  all  marched 
about,  looking  at  our  new 
kingdom  and  marking  all 
its  beauties.  It  was  then 
that  Adam  became  separated 
from  Eve,  and  wandered  off 
by  himself,  very  much  after 
the  fashion  of  husbands  of 
the  present  day;  and  while 
he  was  away,  Satan  entered 
and  commenced  a  desperate 
flirtation  with  the  coy  and 

guileless  Eve.  The  Garden  of  Eden  is  represented  by 
painted  scenery  and  furnishings. 

It  requires  some  imagination  to  invest  this  place  with 
all  the  beauty  that  is  supposed  to  have  belonged  to  the 
original  garden ;  but  as  it  is  the  best  Eden  that  can  be 
provided,  we,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  Saints,  were  obliged 
to  be  content  with  it.  Satan  was  for  many  years  rep- 
resented by  W.  W.  Phelps,  who  has  recently  died.  Much 
to  his  own  surprise  and  great  chagrin,  he  saw  his  end 


APOSTLE  WILLARD  WOODRUFF. 
[ ' '  Timothy  Broadbrim. ' '  ] 


A   FIRST-RATE    DEVIL.  365 

approaching ;  for  he  had  always  claimed  to  be  immortal, 
and  on  a  seal-ring  which  he  wore  while  in  the  Endowment- 
House  was  inscribed  the  blasphemous  legend,  — 

"  The  Lord  and  I 
Shall  never  die." 

I  do  not  know  who  has  succeeded  him ;  but  I  know  that 
in  the  Temple  at  Nauvoo,  John  D.  Lee  used  frequently  to 
assume  the  character,  and  I  have  heard  old  Mormons  say 
that  "  he  made  a  first-rate  devil."  I  think  no  one  who  has 
watched  his  career  will  doubt  that.  Since,  however,  Brig- 
ham  has  recently  cut  him  off  from  the  church,  it  is  hardly 
probable  that  he  will  ever  again  be  able  to  make  his  ap- 
pearance in  his  old  character  at  the  Endowment-House. 

Satan  was  dressed  in  a  tight-fitting  suit  of  black,  slashed 
with  pink,  pointed  shoes,  helmet,  and  a  hideous  mask. 
His  costume,  with  the  exception  of  the  mask,  resembled 
very  closely  the  dress  always  worn  by  the  stage  Mephistoph- 
eles.  I  think  he  must  have  had  different  costumes,  since 
it  has  been  described  several  times,  and  the  descriptions 
have  varied  in  every  case. 

Eve  seemed  decidedly  pleased  with  his  attentions,  and 
prattled  on  to  him  in  artless  gaiety.  He,  in  turn,  showed 
her  the  tree  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  tempted  her  to  taste 
it.  She  did  taste  it,  and  finding  it  pleasant,  offered  it  to 
Adam,  who,  by  the  time  the  mischief  was  done,  returned 
to  look  after  his  wife.  It  required  but  little  coaxing  on  her 
part  to  induce  him  to  take  the  fruit,  and  he  also  found  it 
agreeable.  At  this  juncture  they  seemed  to  discover  their 
condition  of  supposed  nudity,  and  instantly  they  produced 
white  linen  aprons,  with  fig-leaves  stitched  upon  them,  and 
proceeded  to  put  them  on.  All  the  rest  of  us  did  the 
same. 

The  pattern  of  this  apron,  by  the  way,  was  said  to  have 
been  given  to  Joseph  Smith  by  revelation.  It  was  a  square 
of  white  linen,  measuring  about  eighteen  inches,  on  which 


366  FIG-LEAF   FASHIONS. 

were  to  be  sewn  nine  fig-leaves  cut  from  green  silk.  Those 
who  first  took  their  Endowments  had  their  aprons  made 
after  this  model ;  but  there  were  afterwards  many  inven- 
tions sought  out  for  improving  the  Lord's  pattern,  one  of 
which  was  to  paint  them.  Over  these  painted  aprons  fancy 
fairly  ran  riot.  The  borders  would  be  whatever  color  the 
person  making  them  might  choose,  and  were  red,  yellow, 
or  blue,  as  the  caprice  dictated,  with  white  centres  filled 
with  green  leaves.  The  shape  of  these  leaves  was  as  varied 
as  the  people  who  wore  the  aprons.  Some  resembled  the 
oak  leaf,  some  the  fig,  a  part  the  burdock,  and  others  were 
like  nothing  else  that  ever  was  seen  under  the  sun.  A  com- 
pany going  through  their  Endowments  thirty  years  since, 
presented,  it  is  said,  a  decidedly  fantastic  appearance. 
Alter  trying  every  conceivable  mode  of  making  the  aprons, 
they  have  settled  down  to  the  "  revealed  pattern "  as  the 
best  every  way. 

After  the  aprons  were  on,  the  voice  of  Elohim  was  heard 
calling  Adam  ;  but  he  was  afraid,  and  hid  himself  with  Eve. 
All  the  rest  of  us  were  supposed  to  follow  their  example, 
and  there  was  a  most  undignified  scurrying  behind  sofas, 
chairs,  or  any  other  article  of  furniture  that  was  convenient. 
It  was  like  nothing  so  much  as  the  old  game  of  "hide-and- 
seek,"  and  it  was  a  rare  piece  of  fun  to  see  men  and  women 
scudding  in  every  direction  about  the  room.  It  was  like  a 
good  old-fashioned  frolic  to  me,  and  I  actually  laughed 
aloud,  much  to  my  discomfiture  and  Heber  Kimball's  horror, 
who  reproved  me  afterwards,  and  told  me  it  was  very 
wrong.  "For,"  said  he,  "these  things  are  sacred,  and 
make  me  feel  as  solemn  as  the  grave,  and  I  can  scarce  re- 
frain from  shedding  tears  every  time  I  see  them." 

I  was  properly  penitent,  but  I  know  I  thought  at  the  time 
how  very  easily  Brother  Heber  was  moved. 

The  devil  was  then  cursed,  and  he  fell  upon  his  hands 
and  knees,  and  wriggled  and  hissed  in  as  snake-like  a  man- 
ner as  possible ;  we  were  all  brought  out  from  our  several 


FIRST    DEGREE. THE    DEVIL    IS    PUT    TO    FLIGHT.      367 

hiding-places,  the  curse  was  pronounced  upon  us,  which 
doomed  us  to  leave  the  beautiful  garden,  and  earn  our  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  our  brows.  We  were  then  driven  into 
another  room,  which  was  called  the  world ;  and  then  we 
had  taken  our  "First  Degree." 

We  found  the  world  a  very  bewildering  place.  We  were 
drawn  hither  and  thither,  and  tossed  about  by  every  con- 
flicting wave  of  circumstance.  Our  friend,  the  devil,  did 
not  leave,  but  was  our  constant  visitor,  urging  us  to  new 
deeds  of  sin.  We  were  waited  upon  by  representatives  of 
the  different  sects,  each  descanting  upon  his  peculiar  plan 
of  salvation,  and  its  advantage  over  all  the  rest.  The 
Quaker  advocated  his  non-resistance  doctrine.  The  Meth- 
odist gave  a  graphic,  but  not  very  refined  description  of 
the  future  torments  of  those  who  did  not  take  his  road  to 
heaven.  The  Presbyterian  gave  his  belief  in  foreordina- 
tion  and  election  in  the  very  terse  lines,  — 

"  You  can  if  you  can't ; 
If  you  will  you  won't ; 
You'll  be  damned  if  you  do ; 
You'll  be  damned  if  you  don't." 

The  Baptist  expatiated  upon  the  virtues  of  immersion 
and  close  communion,  and  insisted  upon  predestination 
as  the  principal  basis  of  religion ;  the  Catholic  called  for 
observances  of  fasts  and  prayers  to  the  Virgin  Mary. 
Each  grew  more  clamorous  in  recommending  his  special 
creed,  and  the  discussion  waxed  fast  and  furious,  even  the 
peaceful  Quaker  shouting  his  "  good  will  to  men  "  with  a 
red  face,  an  angry  voice,  and  excited  manner,  when  Satan 
entered,  filled  with  delight  at  the  disturbance,  find  urging 
them  on  to  renewed  contention. 

Then  the  apostles  began  to  visit  the  earth,  and  comfort 
its  afflicted  tenants  with  plans  of  the  true,  revealed  religion 
that  was  to  be  their  salvation.  They  put  the  devil  to  flight, 
and  .the  representatives  of  the  "  false  religions"  cowered 
and  shrank  away  before  the  truth  which  they  brought. 


368  THE    MYSTERIOUS    OATHS    AND    SIGNS. 

We  were  then  given  certain  signs,  pass-words,  and  grips, 
arranged  in  a  circle,  and  told  to  kneel;  the  women  were 
also  required  to  cover  their  faces  with  their  veils;  then  we 
were  bidden  to  raise  our  right  hands  heavenward,  and  take 
the  oath  of  implicit  obedience  and  inviolable  secrecy.  The 
women  promised  entire  subjection  to  their  husbands'  will ; 
the  men  that  they  would  take  no  woman  as  a  wife  without 
the  express  permission  of  the  priesthood.  We  all  promised 
that  we  would  never  question  the  commands  of  our  authori- 
ties in  the  church,  but  would  grant  them  instant  obedience ; 
we  swore  also  to  entertain  an  everlasting  enmity  to  the 
United  States  government,  and  to  disregard  its  laws  so  far 
as  possible ;  we  swore  that  we  would  use  every  exertion  to 
avenge  the  death  of  our  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  and  his 
brother  Hyrum  upon  the  Gentile  race,  by  whose  means  they 
were  brought  to  their  unhappy  fate,  and  to  teach  our  chil- 
dren to  foster  this  spirit  of  revenge  also ;  and  last  of  all,  we 
swore  never  to  reveal  the  mysteries  of  the  Endowment 
House. 

The  breaking  of  this  latter  oath  was  to  be  followed  by  the 
most  horrible  penalties ;  torture  of  the  most  excruciating 
kind  was  to  be  inflicted  upon  anyone  who  should  disregard 
this  oath  —  his  bowels  should  be  torn  from  him  while  he  was 
yet  alive ;  his  throat  should  then  be  cut  from  ear  to  ear ;  his 
heart  and  his  tongue  cut  out ;  and  in  the  world  to  come  he 
should  inherit  eternal  damnation.  There  should  be,  nor 
could  be,  no  chance  of  salvation  for  him. 

These  promised  penalties  are  by  no  means  mere  forms  of 
words,  given  merely  to  add  impressiveness  to  the  ceremony. 
The  "  Blood- Atonement "  shows  that  they  are  carried  out, 
and  hundreds  of  cases  could  be  cited  in  addition  to  those 
already  given,  to  prove  that  the  Endowment-House  penalties 
are  by  no  means  dead  letters  in  the  Mormon  Church  law. 
The  cutting  of  every  Gentile  and  apostate  throat,  and  the 
"  sending  to  hell  across  lots,"  that  have  been  so  openly  and 
emphatically  urged  from  the  stand  by  Brigham  Young  and 


THE    SECRET   OF   THE    VEIL.  369 

others,  is  only  a  public  expression  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
Endowment  oaths. 

Brother  Heber  endeavored  to  add  weight  and  emphasis 
to  this  horrible  rite  by  delivering  a  discourse  to  us  on  the 
duty  of  keeping  quiet,  even  to  our  husbands  or  wives,  on 
the  subject ;  from  the  time  we  left  the  room  we  were  in,  the 
transactions  therein  must  not  be  mentioned,  or  even  hinted 
at,  to  anyone.  He  then  entered  upon  a  dissertation  of  the 
glories  of  the  Celestial  Kingdom,  and  fairly  outdid  himself 
in  coarseness  and  vulgarity.  It  was  then  announced  to  us 
that  the  talk  finished  the  ceremony  of  the  "  Second  Degree," 
and  we  were  told  to  enter  the  next  room,  for  the  purpose  of 
having  the  "  Third  Degree  "  of  the  Order  of  Melchisedec 
Priesthood  conferred  upon  us. 

In  this  room  a  portion  of  the  scenes  of  the  last  were  re- 
peated :  the  devil  encouraged  the  ministers  of  the  conflicting 
denominations  to  visit  the  new  inhabitants  of  earth,  and  urge 
their  religions  on  them  once  more.  The  apostles  stop  the 
proposed  visit,  and  explain  still  further  the  doctrines  of  the 
true  faith  ;  they  organize  a  new  church,  which  is,  of  course, 
the  "  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  the  Latter-Day  Saints." 
Our  Temple  robes  were  changed;  resting  afterwards  upon 
the  left  shoulder  and  fastening  under  the  right  arm  —  which 
was  a  sign  that  we  were  now  received  into  the  true  church, 
and  subject  to  the  will  of  its  leaders.  Another  grip  was 
taught  to  us,  and  we  then  received  the  "  Third  Degree," 
and  were  ready  to  "  pass  through  the  veil." 

The  men,  of  course,  went  through  first,  and  they  were 
permitted  then  to  take  us  women  through. 

The  room  we  were  in  was  divided  by  a  muslin  partition, 
in  which  was  a  door ;  in  this  door  was  a  hole  just  large 
enough  to  pass  the  hand  through,  and  over  this  hole  was  a 
curtain  of  muslin.  The  persons  who  were  behind  this  mus- 
lin partition — which  was  supposed  to  represent  "the  veil" 
—  were  invisible  to  us,  although  they  could  see  us  dis- 
tinctly. 

24 


37O        WHAT   THE    WOMEN   WHISPERED    TO   THE    MEN. 

A  man  approached  the  door  as  if  seeking  admittance,  and 
the  Apostle  Peter,  appearing  at  the  opening,  asked  who 
was  there  and  what  was  wanted.  He  was  told  that  some 
one  wished  to  enter.  The  applicant  was  told  to  come  near, 
and,  as  he  approached,  hands  came  through  the  opening  in 
the  door,  and  cut  a  mysterious  mark  on  each  breast  of  the 
man's  garment,  another  over  the  abdomen,  still  another  over 
the  right  knee.  The  garments  of  all  the  applicants  were 
treated  in  the  same  mysterious  manner,  and  the  women  were 
told  to  copy  them  in  their  own  when  they  went  home.  It 
was  also  commanded  them  that  whenever  other  garments 
were  made,  these  marks  must  be  placed  on  them. 

After  the  garments  had  been  cut,  the  applicant  for  ad- 
mission gave  the  last  grip  which  had  been  taught  them, 
through  the  slit  in  the  partition,  and  whispered  his  or  her  new 
name  to  those  behind  who  were  waiting  to  hear  it,  and  was 
then  permitted  to  go  "  behind  the  veil."  The  women  were 
then  taken  through,  the  married  ones  by  their  husbands ; 
I,  as  I  have  before  said,  by  Elder  Samuel  Richards,  brother 
of  Apostle  Franklin  D.  Richards,  of  Hand-Cart  memory. 
Several  remained  to  be  sealed,  but  as  I  had  not  that  cere- 
mony to  go  through,  I  was  permitted  to  go  away. 

I  was  perfectly  exhausted  by  what  I  had  passed  through, 
and  quite  dissatisfied.  It  was  so  different  from  what  I  ex- 
pected that  I  was  saddened  and  disappointed  by  it  all.  My 
feelings  of  the  morning  had  undergone  a  most  radical 
change.  I  was  no  longer  buoyed  up  by  the  enthusiasm  of 
religious  fervor ;  that  had  died  away,  and  I  was  as  hopeless 
and  apathetic  as  I  had  before  been  eager  and  buoyant. 

I  was  too  tired  to  go  home  at  once ;  so  I  went  to  Heber 
Kimball's  to  rest.  When  he  returned  from  the  Endowment- 
House  he  found  me  there,  and  he  asked  how  I  felt  since  I 
left  the  House  ;  if  I  had  found  peace  and  help.  I  told  him 
no ;  that  I  felt  worse,  if  possible,  than  ever.  It  was  then 
that  he  reproved  me  for  the  levity  which  he  had  seen  me 
show,  and  told  me  he  feared  I  did  not  take  my  Endowments 


HOW   TO    BURY   A   SAINT. 


371 


in  the  right  spirit.  I  began  to  think  that  that  might  be  the 
case,  and  that  the  fault  lay  with  me  and  my  understanding, 
and  possibly  the  ordinance  was  not  such  a  farcical  proceed- 
ing as  it  had  seemed  to  me ;  and  I  took  the  reproof  so  humbly 
and  with  such  good  grace,  that  Brother  Heber  grew  abso- 
lutely hopeful  for  me. 

It  is  claimed  that  the 
mysterious  rites  were  taken 
from  Masonry,  and  that 
the  Endowments  are  a 
direct  outgrowth  of  the 
secret  society.  Brigham 
Young  delights,  I  know, 
to  speak  of  it  as  w  Celes- 
tial Masonry,"  but  I  am 
very  sure  all  good  Masons 
would  repudiate  it  and  its 
teachings. 

In  regard  to  the  oaths 

of  secrecy  which  I  took  at  that  time,  I  do  not  consider  that 
I  am  doing  anything  wrong  in  breaking  them ;  I  am  sure  I 
shall  in  no  way  be  held  accountable  for  so  doing.  I  took 
them  because  I  felt  that  I  must.  I  did  not  know  what  I 
was  promising  until  after  the  oath  was  given  me,  while 
I  listened  with  uplifted  hand.  I  was  bound  to  secrecy,  but 
I  feel  that  right  and  justice  demand  that  I  shall  break  these 
bonds.  I  consider  it  a  duty  to  expose,  as  far  as  I  possibly 
can,  the  wickedness,  cruelty,  blasphemy,  and  disloyalty  of 
the  leaders  of  the  deluded  Mormon  people. 

All  Mormons  who  have  received  their  Endowments  are 
buried  in  their  robes  —  caps,  shoes,  apron,  and  all.  It  is 
held  necessary  in  order  to  insure  their  entrance  into  the 
Celestial  Kingdom.  One  of  the  authorities  in  the  church 
was  once  asked  what  would  become  of  the  Mormon  children 
who  should  die  before  they  were  old  enough  to  receive  their 


'APOSTLE"  HEBER  C.  KIMBALL. 


37 2  HOW   BAPTISTE    "DISAPPEARED." 

Endowments,  and  consequently  were  buried  without  the 
robes. 

He  replied  that  their  parents,  or  whoever  had  the  power 
of  resurrecting  them,  must  prepare  the  clothing,  and  when 
their  dead  came  out  of  their  graves  they  were  to  clothe  them 
with  the  sacred  robes. 

A  few  years  since  a  man  named  Baptiste  was  discovered 
robbing  the  dead  of  their  garments,  and  as  a  matter  of 
course  the  greatest  excitement  prevailed.  He  was  imme- 
diately w  made  away  with,"  his  house  searched,  and  a  large 
number  of  robes  discovered.  Some  said  that  he  was  put  on 
a  little  island  in  the  lake,  and  left  to  perish.  Others  said 
that  Porter  Rockwell  looked  after  his  interests.  But  cer- 
tain it  is  that  he  "  disappeared,"  and  was  never  seen  again. 
The  garments  were  identified,  and  the  friends  of  the  dead 
began  taking  up  the  bodies  and  replacing  the  robes.  Brig- 
ham  ordered  them  to  desist,  telling  them  that  "  under  the 
circumstances  their  friends  would  be  taken  care  of  in  the 
resurrection ; "  so  most  of  the  robes  were  never  restored. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


THE  PROPHET   MAKES    LOVE  TO   ME.  —  I    HAVE  OTHER 

VIEWS. 

The  Prophet  Casts  his  Eye  on  Me.  —  He  Objects  to  My  Beaux.  —  "A  Low 
Set  Anyway."  —  I  Didn't  Want  to  Marry  the  Prophet.  —  He  Considers 
Himself  an  Irresistible  Lover.  —  My  First  Drive  with  the  Prophet.  — 
I  Join  the  Theatrical  Corps.  —  How  We  "  Got  Up  "  our  Parts.  —  How 
"  Fun  Hall  "  was  Built.  —  The  Prophet  Erects  a  Theatre  out  of  Temple 
Funds.  —  How  Julia  Deane,  the  Actress,  Fascinated  the  Prophet.  —  How 
Brigham  Cheated  the  Actors  in  his  Theatre.  —  The  Girls  Grumble  over 
their  Scanty  Fare.  —  They  Want  Something  Good  to  Eat.  —  My  New 
Beau.  —  Love  at  First  Sight.  —  I  am  Engaged  to  My  First  Husband. 


OON  after  I  took  my 
Endowments,  Brig- 
ham  Young  showed 
his  consciousness  of 
my   existence.     He 
had  always  seen  me 
frequently,  but   had 
regarded    me     and 
treated  me  as  a  child. 
He  seemed  suddenly 
to  realize  that  I  had 
grown  to  be  a  young 
lady,  and   the   first 
intimation  he   gave 
of  it  was  by  interfer- 
ing with  my  beaux. 
Like  most  girls  of  my  age,  I  was  very  fond  of  gay  socie- 
ty ;  liked  honest  admiration  and  attention  ;  and  I  should  like 
to  know  what  girl  of  seventeen  does  not,  whether  she  be 
Mormon  or  Gentile? 

I  was  at  that  time  quite  intimate  with  Emmeline  Free's 
children,  and  I  knew  nearly  all  of  the  rest  of  Brigham  Young's 


MY  FIRST  APPEARANCE  IN  BRIGHAM'S  THEATRE. 


374  "  A   LOW  SET  ANYWAY  !  " 

children ;  but  Emmeline's  were  nearer  my  own  age,  and 
circumstances  had  thrown  us  more  together.  Emmeline 
had  a  younger  brother,  Finley  Free,  who  was  at  one  time  a 
great  friend  of  mine  ;  indeed,  as  many  boys  and  girls  before 
us  have  done,  I  suppose  we  fancied  we  were  in  love  with 
each  other.  Finley  was  a  jolly  fellow,  full  of  fun,  and  we 
agreed  capitally.  Emmeline  used  to  throw  us  together  in 
every  possible  way,  —  for,  I  suppose,  like  most  women  of 
a  somewhat  romantic  turn  of  mind,  she  was  fond  of  match- 
making, and  having  no  other  convenient  couple  at  hand, 
she  amused  herself  with  us. 

Brigham  saw  me  often  at  Emmeline's,  and  twice  at  the 
theatre,  always  with  Finley  Free.  He  was  always  very 
pleasant  to  me,  and  I  quite  liked  him,  until  one  day  he  went 
to  my  mother,  and  told  her  that  he  wished  her  to  stop  my 
going  about  with  Finley  Free  ;  that  I  ought  not  to  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  *  those  Frees  ;  "  they  were  "  a  low  set  any- 
way," and  didn't  amount  to  anything,  either  the  boys  or 
girls  —  a  rather  peculiar  remark  for  him  to  make,  when  his 
favorite  wife  at  that  time  —  for  that  was  before  the  reign  of 
Amelia  opened  —  was  one  of  those  selfsame  Frees  of  whom 
he  spoke  so  contemptuously  to  my  mother. 

Of  course  I  didn't  like  this  interference  at  all,  and  I  con- 
sidered m}'self  quite  a  martyr  to  the  Mormon  priestly  rule. 
I  expressed  my  opinion  of  the  Prophet  very  freely,  and,  I 
have  no  doubt,  very  foolishly,  and  I  spoke  of  him  in  a  man- 
ner that  fairly  horrified  my  mother,  who  considered  me 
nearly  as  profane  and  blasphemous  as  if  I  had  found  fault 
with  the  overrulings  of  Providence.  The  Mormon  people 
bow  as  humbly,  and  say  as  resignedly,  "Thy  will,  not  mine, 
be  done,"  before  a  fiat  of  Brigham  Young's  as  they  do  be- 
fore a  mysterious  dispensation  of  the  Lord's ;  and  I  honestly 
believe  they  would  dare  question  the  justice  of  God  sooner 
than  that  of  Brigham  Young.  The  latter  holds  them  so  com- 
pletely, body  and  soul,  that  they  shrink  before  his  displeas- 
ure in  absolute  ^  terror,  and  regard  religiously  his  every 
slightest  wish. 


*  THAT  HATEFUL  OLD  THING  !  "  375 

All  the  girls  of  my  acquaintance  knew  of  the  trouble, 
and,  naturally  enough,  all  sympathized  with  me ;  and  a 
more  rebellious  set  of  mortals  was  never  seen.  We  in- 
dulged in  the  most  incendiary  talk,  and  turned  the  torrent 
of  our  wrath  especially  against  polygamy.  One  girl  sug- 
gested that,  as  the  old  men  always  interfered  with  the  girls* 
"fun,"  it  was  more  than  likely  that  it  was  because  they 
wanted  them  for  themselves  ;  and  ended  by  turning  to  me, 
and  saying,  "  Perhaps  Brother  Brigham  means  to  marry 
you  himself." 

"But  he  won't,"  said  I,  angrily;  "I  wouldn't  have  him 
if  he  asked  me  a  thousand  times,  —  hateful  old  thing." 

My  spirit  was  warmly  applauded  by  my  auditors,  and 
we  all  entered  into  a  solemn  compact,  then  and  there,  never, 
never,  to  enter  polygamy.  How  fortunate  it  was  that  our 
futures  were  unrevealed  to  us  !  I  look  back  now  to  that  time, 
and  then  think  of  the  girls  as  they  are  to-day,  —  most  of  them 
polygamous  wives,  —  hating  the  bondage  in  which  they  are 
held,  yet  wearing  their  galling  fetters  with  a  hopeless  sort 
of  patience,  that  is,  after  all,  only  silent  endurance ;  for  it 
would  avail  nothing  if  they  should  cry  out  in  despair  and 
desperation ;  they  would  only  be  treated  with  greater  neg- 
lect, insulted  oftener  and  more  openly,  or  else  held  up  to 
public  ridicule  by  their  religious  leader,  to  whom  the  un- 
happy husbands  of  these  complaining  wives  —  women  who 
dared  to  be  wretched  when  Mormonism  declared  they 
should  not  —  had  related  their  domestic  grievances. 

It  may  seem  rather  strange  that  such  a  simple  affair  as  a 
school-girl's  indignation-meeting  should  be  reported  to  the 
Prophet.  But  it  was ;  and,  among  other  things,  my  un- 
lucky speech  was  repeated  to  him.  Most  men  would  have 
laughed  at  it  as  mere  girlish  nonsense  and  folly,  and  never 
have  thought  of  it  again,  much  less  spoken  of  it ;  but  not  so 
Brigham  Young.  No  affair  is  too  trivial  to  fail  to  be  of 
interest  to  him ;  and,  besides,  in  this  speech  of  mine  —  girl 
as  I  was  —  his  vanity  was  sorely  hurt.  If  he  has  one 


376 


MY   FIRST    DRIVE    WITH   BRIGHAM. 


weakness  above  all  his  other  weaknesses,  it  is  his  vanity 
regarding  the  power  he  possesses  over  my  sex  ;  and  to  have 
his  fascinations  called  in  question  was  a  sore  hurt  for  his 
pride. 

What  cowards  we  all  are,  to  be  sure  !  I  was  as  brave  as 
you  please  in  making  my  declaration  of  independence  to  my 
mates,  with  whom,  at  that  particular  period,  I  was  some- 
thing of  a  heroine ;  but  when  called  upon  to  defend  that  dec- 
laration >  I  am  ashamed  to  say,  I  left  it  to  take  care  of  itself, 
and  employed  myself  in  stammering  out  excuses  for  its  ex- 
istence.. 


MY  FIRST  RIDE  WITH  BRIGHAM. 

I  was  going  home  one  day,  and  was  walking  leisurely 
along,  when  the  presidential  carriage,  with  the  President 
himself  as  the  sole  occupant,  stopped  at  the  edge  of  the  side- 
walk. Brother  Brigham  gave  me  a  very  kindly  greeting, 
and  said,  "You  are  some  distance  from  home;  get  in  and 
ride  with  me  ;  I  will  carry  you  there. " 


"YOU  SAID  YOU  WOULDN'T  MARRY  ME."          377 

I  knew  the  invitation  was  equivalent  to  a  command ;  so  I 
got  reluctantly  into  the  carriage,  feeling  very  small  indeed, 
and  hating  myself  that  I  did  not  refuse.  As  we  rode  along, 
he  suddenly  burst  out  with,  "  I  heard  you  said  you  wouldn't 
marry  me  if  I  wanted  you  to  ever  so  much." 

I  was  so  surprised  that  it  nearly  took  away  my  breath. 
I  managed  to  stammer  out  a  very  incoherent,  lame  reply, 
and  grew  every  minute  more  embarrassed.  He  said  no 
more  to  me  on  the  subject,  but  was  very  pleasant,  and  took 
me  home  to  my  mother,  who  was  quite  surprised  to  see  me 
appearing  in  that  style.  I  think  Brigham's  mind  was  made 
up  from  that  time  that  I  should  one  day  be  his  wife ;  not,  I 
think,  from  any  particular  affection  which  he  cherished  for 
me,  but  to  punish  me  for  my  foolish  speech,  and  to  show 
me  that  his  will  was  stronger  than  mine,  and  that  he  did  not 
choose  to  be  set  at  defiance  even  by  so  insignificant  a  person 
as  myself. 

The  autumn  in  which  I  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  he 
sent  for  me  to  come  to  the  theatre  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
pany, for  he  wished  to  make  an  actress  of  me.  At  the 
same  time  he  told  my  mother  that  he  thought  I  had  better 
stay  at  the  "Lion  House,"  which  is  where  the  larger  part 
of  the  family  live,  as  our  own  house  was  so  far  away  from 
the  theatre  that  it  would  be  extremely  inconvenient  for  me 
to  live  there,  as  I  would  be  obliged  to  be  back  and  forth 
from  the  theatre  every  evening,  and  often  through  the  day. 
He  wished  me  to  enter  upon  my  new  duties  at  once,  and  as 
I  had  no  thought  of  disobeying  him,  I  went  immediately  on 
receiving  the  summons.  I  did  not  see  why  I  should  be  sent 
for,  as  I  had  no  particular  talent  or  taste  for  the  stage,  and 
I  knew  absolutely  nothing  about  the  art  of  acting.  I  never 
had  the  slightest  training  or  preparation  for  it,  but  plunged 
into  it,  entirely  ignorant  of  what  I  was  undertaking.  I  did 
"juvenile  business,"  with  an  occasional  "soubrette"  part 
as  a  variation ;  but  in  the  latter  line  I  was  not  nearly  so 
successful.  Several  of  Brigham's  daughters  were  acting  at 


378 

the  time.  The  most  prominent  were  Alice,  who  did  "lead- 
ing" business,  and  Zina,  who  was  "leading  juvenile." 

At  that  time  the  theatre  was  a  church  affair.  All  the 
actors  and  actresses  were  Mormons,  with  the  exception  of 
an  occasional  "  star,"  and  all  of  them  played  without  sal- 
aries. They  were  selected  from  the  first  families  in  the 
city  by  the  owner  of  the  theatre,  who,  of  course,  was  Brig- 
ham  Young,  and  spent  literally  all  their  time  in  studying, 
rehearsing,  and  preparing  wardrobes,  which  they  furnished 
themselves.  The  honor  of  being  selected  by  Brother  Brig- 
ham  to  amuse  him  and  assist  him  was  supposed  to  be  suffi- 
cient remuneration. 

The  theatre,  by  the  way,  has  been,  and  still  is,  a  prolific 
source  of  revenue  to  the  Prophet.  Theatricals  have  always 
been  largely  patronized  by  the  Saints,  and  rank  with  dan- 
cing as  an  amusement.  They  were  introduced  into  Nauvoo 
by  Joseph  Smith,  and  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  arrival 
in  Salt  Lake  Valley  they  were  commenced.  The  actors 
were  all  amateurs,  and  the  playing,  no  doubt,  was  some- 
thing quite  extraordinary ;  but  it  was  a  recreation,  and  for- 
tunately the  audiences  were  not  critical.  Dramatic  effects 
are  very  much  liked  by  this  people,  and  they  would  reduce 
everything  to  a  play,  if  possible.  They  certainly  make  it 
a  part  of  religious  service ;  for  what  is  the  "  Endowment," 
if  it  is  not  a  drama,  and  a  very  silly  one  at  that? 

The  first  Utah  theatricals  were  held  in  a  building  called 
"Social  Hall,"  but  after  a  time  the  Prophet  became  im- 
pressed that  another  building  was  required.  So,  taking 
"Amusements"  as  a  text,  he  delivered  a  sermon  on  the 
proposed  new  building.  He  said  he  should  christen  it 
"Fun  Hall,"  as  bethought  that  would  be  the  most  appro- 
priate name  that  could  be  given  it.  "It  is,"  he  said,  "to  be 
a  place  where  the  Saints  can  meet  together  and  have  all 
the  fun  they  desire.  And  no  Gentiles  shall  ever  desecrate 
its  sacred  stage  with  their  tragedies.  It  is  built  exclusively 
for  ourselves  and  our  own  holy  fun." 


BUILDING   A   THEATRE    WITH    CHURCH-FUNDS. 


379 


This  was  good  news  to  a  people  who  were  already  be- 
coming very  weary  with  the  exactions  of  their  priesthood. 
Now,  the  Prophet  said,  it  was  the  will  of  the  Lord  that  we 
should  have  a  little  relaxation  from  the  constant,  wearing 
toil,  which  was  beginning  to  be  almost  unendurable.  The 
Prophet  further  enlightened  us  how  it  was  to  be  built. 
w  We  can  borrow  some  of  the  '  Temple  fund/  for  present 
use,"  he  explained ;  "but  that  will  be  a  matter  of  but  small 
moment,  sinoe  we  can  so  soon  replace  it."  So  "  Fun  Hall " 


BRIGHAM'S  THEATRE. 

was  built  with  the  tithing,  and  any  Saint  could  have  access 
to  the  amusements  given  there  by  paying  whatever  en- 
trance fee  Brigham  demanded.  It  did  not  retain  its  name 
after  it  was  finished,  but  was  called  "Brigham's  Theatre." 

As  soon  as  it  was  completed  it  was  dedicated,  after  the 
usual  Mormon  fashion.  The  choir  sang,  and  the  singing 
was  followed  by  earnest  and  lengthy  prayer  from  some 
good  brother,  —  I  have  forgotten  which  one,  —  after  which 
Brigham  rose,  and  said,  — 

w  Through  the  help  of  the  Lord,  we  have  been  able  to 


380      THE    PROPHET    IN    LOVE  WITH  A  PRETTY  ACTRESS  ! 

build  this  theatre.  I  know  that  it  is  as  good  a  building  as 
any  of  the  kind  that  was  ever  built,  and  I  am  not  going  to 
have  it  defiled  like  the  Gentile  theatres.  I  will  not  have 
a  Gentile  on  this  stage.  Neither  will  I  have  tragedies 
played.  I've  said  that  before,  and  I  mean  it.  I  won't 
have  our  women  and  children  coming  here  to  be  frightened 
so  they  can't  sleep  at  night.  I'll  have  a  Saints'  theatre,  for 
the  Saints,  and  we'll  see  what  we  can  do  ourselves." 

Yet,  in  flat  contradiction  to  all  this  bombast,  it  was  not 
three  months  before  tragedies  were  represented  on  that 
stage,  and,  the  very  first  winter,  a  Gentile  actor  was  en- 
gaged, who  played  there  through  the  entire  season.  Gen- 
tile players  and  Gentile  plays  have  been  continued  up  to 
this  day,  and  let  me  assure  you  there  is  no  more  apprecia- 
tive admirer  of  the  actresses  who  visit  Salt  Lake  than  Brig- 
ham  Young.  He  has  fallen  a  victim  to  the  charms  of  sev- 
eral, but  he  never  was  so  impressed  as  he  was  with  Julia 
Deane  Hayne.  He  was  madly  in  love  with  her,  and,  for  a 
while,  Amelia's  position  seemed  a  little  precarious.  He 
bestowed  every  attention  upon  the  lady,  had  her  portrait 
painted  on  his  sleigh,  and  made  her  an  actual  offer  of  mar- 
riage, which  she  refused  on  the  spot,  without  even  taking 
time  for  consideration.  His  regard  for  her  never  ceased, 
and  I  have  heard,  on  what  seemed  very  good  authority, — 
although  I  cannot  vouch  for  its  truth,  — that  after  he  heard 
of  her  death  he  had  one  of  his  wives  baptized  for  her,  and 
then  sealed  to  him  for  her;  so  he  is  sure,  he  thinks,  of 
possessing  her  in  the  next  world,  although  he  could  not 
induce  her  to  look  kindly  upon  him  here.  No  doubt  she 
will  be  properly  grateful  when  she  finds  out  that  he  has 
taken  care  of  her  future  welfare,  and  has  assured  her  sal- 
vation, and  fixed  her  position  in  the  next  world. 

Since  the  theatre  was  first  opened,  all  or  nearly  all  the 
tf  stars "  have  played  there,  on  their  way  to  California. 
We  have  had  all  the  actors  and  actresses,  from  Forrest  and 
Le  Clerq  to  Lydia  Thompson  and  Dickie  Lingard,  and  the 


HOW   BRIGHAM    SWINDLED    THE   ACTORS.  381 

entertainments  have  varied  from  tragedy  to  a  "variety  show/' 
We  have  had  as  musical  entertainments  everything  from 
opera  to  negro  minstrelsy.  We  have  had  Gentiles  in  the 
stock  company ;  and  some  of  our  Mormon  girls,  who  have 
made  success  in  their  profession,  have  slipped  away  to 
other  places,  renounced  Mormonism,  and  are  making  fine 
positions  for  themselves  in  the  outside  world.  A  Miss 
Alexander,  especially,  who  was  one  of  our  most  promising 
actresses,  became  a  very  great  favorite  in  California,  where 
she  played  for  some  time. 

The  theatre  has  been  a  source  of  wealth  to  Brigham. 
Built  by  money  extorted  from  the  people  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  erecting  a  Temple  to  God,  it,  of  course,  was  no 
expense  to  him,  personally ;  and  yet,  although  built  by  the 
church  money,  he  has  appropriated  it  as  private  property, 
and  he  pockets  every  dollar  that  is  made  at  the  theatre,  and 
devotes  it  exclusively  to  his  own  use.  For  a  long  time  his 
actors,  except  the  Gentile  ones,  whom  he  was  obliged  to 
pay,  cost  him  nothing,  and  as  everyone  furnished  his  or 
her  wardrobe,  the  owner  of  the  theatre  was  put  to  very 
little  expense  in  carrying  it  on. 

Now  he  has  to  pay  even  his  Mormon  players.  He  tried 
a  short  time  ago  to  return  to  the  old  system  again,  but  he 
failed  utterly,  as  the  actors  would  not  listen  to  such  a  prop- 
osition for  a  moment,  and  he  did  not  dare  to  press  it,  lest 
he  should  lose  some  of  the  best  members  of  his  company. 
The  younger  Mormons  are  not  afraid  to  leave  Utah,  and 
the  church  ;  and,  thrown  as  they  constantly  are  with  people 
from  the  outside  world,  —  the  "  Babylon,"  which  they  have 
been  taught  to  dread  and  look  upon  with  fear  and  horror, 
as  a  place  full  of  all  kinds  of  lying  abominations,  and  wick- 
edness of  every  sort,  —  they  have  many  opportunities  of 
learning  of  that  same  world  and  what  it  offers.  This  Gen- 
tile intercourse  is  doing  more  than  anything  else  to  break 
the  tyrannical  yoke  of  a  corrupt  priesthood,  and  liberalize 
the  minds  of  the  Utah  people. 


382  MY    THEATRICAL    LIFE. 

In  the  days  of  my  own  dramatic  experiences,  the  Gentile 
element  by  no  means  predominated,  and  we  all  worked  for 
the  good  of  the  Prophet.  I  was  never  enthusiastic  over  my 
profession,  and  never  made  a  brilliant  success  in  it,  though 
I  was  something  of  a  favorite,  and  had  very  pleasant  things 
said  of  me,  not  only  in  the  Salt  Lake,  but  even  in  the  Cali- 
fornia papers,  by  some  persons  who  had  seen  me  act. 
Whatever  it  was  that  kept  me  from  being  an  absolute  fail- 
ure I  never  knew.  It  certainly  was  not  because  I  had  pre- 
pared for  my  profession,  for  I  had  not;  and  I  only  went 
through  the  parts  assigned  to  me  as  I  fancied  they  should 
be  given,  and  I  never  attempted  any  stage  tricks  or  man- 
nerisms. If  I  had,  my  doom  would  have  been  sealed.  I 
fancy  that  my  adherence  to  nature,  and  a  constant  refrain- 
ing from  striving  for  effect,  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  my 
popularity ;  for  I  was  liked,  even  though  I  was  no  artist, 
and  it  is  not  egotism  for  me  to  say  it.  I  was  glad  to  be 
liked,  and  I  am  glad  still,  and  I  knew  that  the  liking  was 
genuine  and  honest,  and  I  returned  it,  too.  My  public  was 
like  a  party  of  friends,  and  I  was  always  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  them,  and  grateful  to  them  for  giving  me  so 
much  encouragement. 

Then  the  company  were  all  my  friends.  It  was  almost 
like  a  family  ;  and  I  do  not  believe  there  was  ever  a  theatre 
where  there  was  less  of  envyings,  and  jealousies,  and 
strifes,  than  there  was  among  us.  I  look  back  to  those 
days  as  among  my  pleasantest  recollections ;  for,  in  addi- 
tion to  my  happy  theatrical  life,  I  then*  first  realized  the 
romance  of  love. 

As  had  been  proposed  by  Brigham  when  he  summoned 
me  to  the  theatre,  I  spent  most  of  the  time  at  the  Lion 
House  with  the  family.  Most  of  them  I  had  known  from 
my  earliest  childhood ;  so  I  was  not  among  strange  people, 
but  rather  among  good  friends.  I  went  home  every  Sun- 
day, and  once  or  twice  during  every  week,  and  called  it 
living  at  home ;  but  I  visited  in  the  Prophet's  family. 


WE    GRUMBLE    WITH    OUR    BREAD   AND    BUTTER.       383 

They  lived  there  in  the  most  frugal  manner.  There  was 
enough  on  the  table,  but  the  fare  was  not  so  varied  as 
might  have  been,  and  the  younger  ones,  especially,  used  to 
get  very  tired  of  the  constant  repetition  of  dishes.  We  usu- 
ally knew  just  what  we  should  find  on  the  table  ;  for,  what- 
ever else  was  absent,  bread  and  butter  and  dried  peach- 
sauce  were  always  there.  It  got  rather  monotonous  after  a 
while  ;  and  I  must  confess  I  used  to  enjoy  rushing  off  to  my 
mother  and  getting  something  good  to  eat,  and  "  the  girls  " 
used  to  enjoy  going  with  me,  when  I  would  take  them. 
They  grumbled  as  much  as  they  dared  over  the  home  fare  ; 
but  they  did  it  very  quietly  among  themselves,  as  they  did 
not  dare  to  have  their  complaints  reach  their  father's  ears, 
for  he  would  not  endure  grumbling  from  them  any  better 
than  he  would  endure  it  from  any  of  his  people. 

But  it  was  a  very  funny  sight,  if  one  could  only  have 
seen  it  as  I  did,  to  watch  the  girls  when  the  bell  rang  for 
tea  or  for  breakfast.  They  would  all  jump  up  from  what- 
ever they  happened  to  be  doing,  and,  striking  various  atti- 
tudes, would  exclaim,  "Bread  and  butter  and  peach-sauce." 
Sometimes  the  tone  assumed  would  be  tragical  in  the  ex- 
treme ;  sometimes  it  would  be  pathetic,  sometimes  despair- 
ing, sometimes  expostulatory ;  and  the  attitudes  would  all 
agree  with  the  tone.  Then  all  the  way  down  the  long  hall 
that  led  to  the  dining-room,  as  long  as  they  could  without 
being  perceived  and  reproved  by  any  of  the  elder  members 
of  the  family,  they  would  march  along,  and  chant,  in  sub- 
dued tones,  in  a  doleful  sort  of  wail,  "bread  and  butter  and 
peach-sauce."  I  once  suggested  that  it  sounded  like  a 
dirge. 

"  Don't  we  wish  it  were  !  "  answered  one,  quickly  ;  "but  in 
that  case,  my  dear,  we  should  put  more  spirit  into  our  per- 
formance." 

I  little  thought,  in  those  days,  that  I  should  ever  be  in  a 
position  to  "  wail "  in  earnest  over  the  Prophet's  parsimony — 
in  those  days  when  I  "  assisted  "  his  daughters  at  their  daily 


384  NEW   LIFE. — MY   FIRST    LOVE    APPEARS. 

performances.  I  think  I  should  have  put  more  heart  into 
my  wailing,  and  sorrowed  quite  as  much  for  my  own  sake 
as  for  the  lack  of  luxuries  on  the  prophetic  table.  But  the 
fun  that  we  got  out  of  it,  and  the  knowledge  that  we  should 
be  disapproved  of  if  our  grumblings  were  known,  gave  a 
relish  even  to  the  monotonous  fare,  and  we  endured  it  as 
we  could  not  if  we  had  not  the  memory  of  the  frolic  to  assist 
us.  Nothing  is  hard  to  endure  if  you  can  in  some  way 
make  a  jest  of  it,  not  even  "bread  and  butter,"  and  the 
dryest  of  dried  peach-sauce. 

It  was  while  I  was  acting  that  I  met  my  first  husband, 
Mr.  James  L.  Dee.  He  was  an  Englishman,  a  very  hand- 
some fellow,  and  a  very  great  favorite  with  all  the  girls.  It 
was  one  of  those  romantic  affairs  called  "  love  at  first  sight," 
and  I  surrendered  at  discretion,  without  attempting  to  resist 
the  hold  which  the  new  fancy  took  on  me.  We  met  acci- 
dentally at  the  house  of  a  mutual  friend,  and  the  chance 
meeting  soon  ripened  into  a  friendship,  and  that  into  a  nearer 
relation.  My  whole  life  was  brightened  by  the  new,  sweet 
glory  that  had  swept  in  in  such  a  torrent  upon  me.  It  took 
on  a  new  look,  and  even  the  most  common  things  were 
invested  with  a  strange,  novel  interest.  Nothing  seemed 
natural.  Everything  in  my  life  had  deepened  and  broad- 
ened in  the  light  of  my  new  experience.  Commonplace 
people  grew  interesting,  commonplace  events  stirring. 
The  whole  world  was  tinted  with  the  rose-color  of  my  ro- 
mance. I  was  very  happy.  My  friends  did  not  approve  of 
my  lover  at  all,  and  they  all  advised  me  not  to  encourage 
his  attentions.  They  saw  that  he  was  in  no  way  my  equal ; 
but  I  was  so  blinded  that  I  would  not  see  what  they  pointed 
out  to  me.  There  was  disparity  in  disposition  and  in  tem- 
perament, all  of  which  promised,  to  those  who  could  see 
and  understand  the  matter,  unhappiness  if  we  came  into  a 
closer  relationship. 

But  what  girl  of  eighteen  ever  thinks  seriously  of  these 
things  ?     I  was,    I    suppose,  no    more   unwise   than   all 


MY    LOVE    AND    MY    LOVER.  —  OPPOSITION.  385 

girls  of  that  age  are,  nor  any  more  unreasonable.  I  had  a 
touch  of  romance  in  my  nature,  and  I  did  what  so  many 
women  do  who  are  in  love.  I  made  an  ideal ;  then  I  set 
myself  to  find  some  living  person  to  invest  with  all  the  vir- 
tues and  graces,  mental,  moral,  and  physical,  of  my  imagi- 
nary hero.  I  found  the  person,  and  straightway  set  myself 
to  worship.  But  he  was  a  very  different  person  from  the 
one  of  my  creation ;  the  one  was  brave,  gentle,  noble, 
kind,  and  steadfast;  the  other  —  well,  time  will  show  what 
he  was. 

But  all  the  winter,  after  I  went  on  to  the  stage,  I  was 
loving  this  imaginary  being,  and  calling  it  James  Dee.  I 
grew  ambitious,  and  I  acted  better  all  the  time.  I  think, 
perhaps,  if  I  had  remained  on  the  stage,  and  had  not  lost 
my  ideal,  I  should  have  accomplished  something  in  my 
profession.  Love  does  make  a  woman  ambitious.  If  she 
never  had  before,  in  all  her  life,  a  desire  to  be,  to  do,  to 
excel,  she  has  it  now.  She  wants  to  do  something  to  make 
herself  the  better  worth  his  taking.  There  is  such  a  sweet 
humility  about  a  woman's  love  !  She  is  always  depreciating 
herself,  always  growing  shy  and  timid  in  the  light  of  the 
superior  wisdom  which  she  insists  that  her  lover  must 
possess. 

It  is  very  sweet  to  worship  in  this  way,  but  it  is  disas- 
trous. It  is  bad  for  both  lover  and  beloved.  But  girls,  in 
their  first  romance,  don't  take  this  into  account. 

My  parents  did  not  forbid  my  engagement,  although 
they  plainly  told  me  they  did  not  approve  of  it ;  and  after 
they  found  that  I  was  determined,  they  gave  a  reluctant 
consent,  but  they  counselled  silence  on  the  subject,  hoping 
that  I  might  see  something  in  my  lover  which  should  induce 
me  to  change  my  mind.  They  were  wise  enough  not  to 
tell  me  the  reason,  but  I  knew  it  intuitively,  and  the  very 
knowledge  that  they  were  hoping  that  I  might  give  him 
up  made  me  only  the  more  determined  to  cling  to  my 
lover  in  spite  of  them  all.  And  I  did.  I  never  wavered 
25 


386  THE    HAPPY   HOURS    OF   MY    FIRST    LOVE. 

in  my  devotion  for  a  moment.  I  gave  him  the  truest  love 
a  woman  can  give  a  man ;  the  entire  wealth  of  my  affec- 
tion I  lavished  on  him ;  and  he  repaid  it  as  men  of  his 
class,  selfish,  overbearing,  and  domineering,  usually  repay 
it  —  in  neglect  and  abuse  when  once  I  was  in  his  power. 

But  he  showed  none  of  that  domineering  spirit  in  the 
days  of  our  early  acquaintance ;  he  deferred  to  me  in  the 
slightest  matter ;  he  professed  to  love  me  very  tenderly, 
and  I  believe  he  did  love  me  as  well  as  he  was  capable  of 
loving  anything,  or  anybody,  outside  of  himself.  At  all 
events,  I  found  nothing  to  miss  in  his  care  for  me,  and  af- 
fection towards  me,  and  for  the  few  months  preceding  my 
marriage,  everything  in  my  life  was  tinted  with  the  softest 
rose  glow. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MY  FIRST   MARRIAGE —  A   LIFE'S   MISTAKE. 

My  first  Marriage.  —  Wedded  to  James  Dee.  —  Marriage  Rites  in  the 
Endowment-House.  —  The  way  in  which  Plural  Wives  are  Taken.  — 
Brigham  sends  for  Me  to  help  in  the  Theatre.  —  Repenting  of  Matri- 
mony.—  I  get  tired  of  it  in  a  Month. —  Cruel  Conduct  of  my  Hus- 
band. —  He  flirts  considerably  with  the  Young  Girls.  —  I  am  greatly 
Disgusted  and  furiously  Jealous.  —  He  threatens  to  take  another 
Wife.  —  The  Ownership  of  Women  in  Utah.  —  How  Newspaper  Re- 
porters are  humbugged  by  Brigham.  —  How  Visitors  to  Salt  Lake  are 
Watched.  —  The  Prophet's  Spies.  —  How  People  are  misled  about 
Utah  Affairs.  —  The  Miseries  of  the  Women  Overlooked. 


WAS  married  in  the 
Endowment-  House, 
on  the  4th  of  April, 
1863. 

As  persons  are  not 
allowed  to  enter  the 
inner  rooms  of  that 
mysterious  place  for 
the  purpose  of  going 
through  any  of  the 
rites  or  ordinances  of 
the  church  in  their 
customary  dress,  we, 
of  course,  wore  our 
Temple-robes  during 
the  ceremony.  We 
carried  our  robes 
with  us,  and  dressed  there,  not  appearing  outside  in  our 
sacred  clothing. 

I  must  confess  I  no   longer  regarded   the   Endowment- 
House  with  the   awe  which  I  had  felt  previous  to  my  first 


A  LIFE  OF  UNHAPPINESS. 


388          MY   WEDDING-DAY. A   MORMON    MARRIAGE. 

visit  there,  and  the  whole  manner  in  which  everything  was 
done  was  so  very  stagey,  that  I  failed  to  be  impressed  at 
all  on  this  my  second  visit,  although  the  object  of  my  pres- 
ent visit  naturally  made  me  feel  more  solemn  than  I  other- 
wise should. 

The  marriage  service,  which  is  not  long,  was  performed 
by  Brigham  Young.  We  first  gave  our  names,  ages,  na- 
tive town,  county,  state,  and  country,  to  the  Elder  John 
Lyon,  who  acts  as  scribe  in  the  Endowment-House,  and  he 
carefully  recorded  them,  as  he  does  those  of  every  couple 
who  come  to  be  sealed.  We  then  went  before  Brigham 
Young,  who  was  waiting  for  us,  and  the  following  cer- 
emony made  us  man  and  wife  :  — 

"Do  you,  Brother  James  Dee,  take  Sister  Ann-Eliza 
Webb  by  the  right  hand,  to  receive  her  unto  yourself,  to  be 
your  lawful  and  wedded  wife,  and  you  to  be  her  lawful  and 
wedded  husband,  for  time  and  for  all  eternity,  with  a  cov- 
enant and  promise  on  your  part  that  you  will  fulfil  all  the 
laws,  rites,  and  ordinances  pertaining  to  this  holy  matri- 
mony, in  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  doing  this  in 
the  presence  of  God,  angels,  and  these  witnesses,  of  your 
own  free  will  and  accord  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"Do  you,  Sister  Ann-Eliza  Webb,  take  Brother  James 
Dee  by  the  right  hand,  and  give  yourself  to  him  to  be  his 
lawful  and  wedded  wife,  for  time  and  for  all  eternity,  with 
a  covenant  and  promise  on  your  part  that  you  will  fulfil  all 
the  laws,  rites,  and  ordinances  pertaining  to  this  holy  mat- 
rimony in  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  doing  this  in 
the  presence  of  God,  angels,  and  these  witnesses,  of  your 
own  free  will  and  accord?" 

"Yes." 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  holy  priesthood,  I  pronounce  you  legally  and 
lawfully  husband  and  wife,  for  time  and  for  all  eternity. 
And  I  seal  upon  you  the  blessings  of  the  holy  resurrection, 


HOW    THE    CEREMONY    IS    PERFORMED.  389 

with  power  to  come  forth  in  the  morning  of  the  first  resur- 
rection, clothed  with  glory,  immortality,  and  everlasting 
lives ;  and  I  seal  upon  you  the  blessings  of  thrones,  and 
dominions,  and  principalities,  and  powers,  and  exaltations, 
together  with  the  blessings  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 
And  I  say  unto  you,  Be  fruitful  and  multiply  and  replenish 
the  earth,  that  you  may  have  joy  and  rejoicing  in  your 
prosperity  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  All  these  bless- 
ings, together  with  all  other  blessings  pertaining  to  the  new 
and  everlasting  covenant,  I  seal  upon  your  heads,  through 
your  faithfulness  unto  the  end,  by  the  authority  of  the  holy 
priesthood,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen." 

The  scribe  then  entered  the  date  of  the  marriage, 
together  with  the  names  of  my  mother  and  the  one  or  two 
friends  who  accompanied  us. 

When  the  marriage  is  a  polygamous  one,  the  above  ser- 
vice is  prefaced  in  the  following  manner.  The  wife  stands 
on  the  left  of  her  husband,  the  bride  at  her  left  hand.  The 
President  then  puts  this  question  to  the  wife  :  — 

"Are  you  willing  to  give  this  woman  to  your  husband,  to 
be  his  lawful  and  wedded  wife  for  time  and  for  all  eternity? 
If  you  are,  you  will  manifest  it  by  placing  her  right  hand 
within  the  right  hand  of  your  husband."  The  right  hands 
of  the  bridegroom  and  bride  being  thus  joined,  the  wife 
takes  her  husband  by  the  left  arm,  as  if  in  the  attitude  for 
walking,  and  the  ceremony  then  proceeds  in  the  manner 
which  I  have  quoted. 

Mine  was  not  a  polygamous  marriage.  I  had  married  a 
man  with  no  wife,  and  who  assured  me  that  I  should  be 
the  only  one,  and  I  was  correspondingly  happy.  I  had 
seen  so  much  wretchedness  about  me,  and  so  much  unhap- 
piness  in  my  father's  family,  where  polygamy  showed  only 
its  best  side,  that  I  was  glad  to  escape  it.  To  be  the  only 
one  who  had  right  to  my  husband's  care  seemed  so  blissful ! 
and  I  was  sure  that  very  many  women  were  envying  me 


390  MY    HONEYMOON.  —  FIRST    REGRETS  ! 

because  I  was  so  fortunate.  I  acted  the  evening  of  my 
marriage,  and  the  news  of  it  having  got  out,  I  was  greeted, 
when  I  made  my  appearance,  with  the  most  tumultuous 
applause.  Cheer  after  cheer  arose,  and  it  was  some  min- 
utes before  I  could  speak  my  lines.  Every  time  I  appeared, 
there  was  a  repetition  of  this  scene,  and  I  was  fairly  em- 
barrassed, so  persistent  was  the  applause.  There  was  the 
more  excitement,  probably,  because  I  had  kept  my  ap- 
proaching marriage  a  secret,  and  but  very  few,  even  of  my 
personal  friends,  knew  anything  about  it.  I  had  stolen  a 
march  on  the  public,  and  not  having  the  opportunity  for 
congratulating  me  on  my  engagement,  they  made  up  for  it 
by  congratulations  on  my  marriage.  For  once  I  was  the 
central  figure  on  the  stage,  and  all  my  superiors  gave  way 
to  me  with  a  graceful  good  nature. 

I  remained  in  the  theatre  a  month  after  my  marriage, 
during  which  time  I  learned  that  I  had  made  a  fatal  mis- 
take in  my  marriage.  I  was  forced  to  see,  what  my  friends 
had  tried  to  show  me  before,  and  the  honeymoon  was  not 
over  before  I  bitterly  regretted  my  headstrong  wilfulness. 
I  loved  my  husband,  but  he  made  me  terribly  unhappy. 
He  was  accustomed  to  indulge  in  furious  fits  of  anger, 
which  fairly  frightened  me,  during  which  he  would  talk 
shamefully  to  me,  and  threaten  me  with  all  kinds  of  ill 
treatment.  I  learned,  too,  that  though  I  was  bound  to  him, 
he  still  considered  himself,  and  was  considered,  an  unmar- 
ried man,  as  far  as  his  right  to  marry  again  was  concerned ; 
and  he  soon  became  quite  a  noted  gallant  among  the  young 
girls,  bestowing  on  them  the  attentions  that  he  had  given 
me  in  our  unmarried  days,  and  treating  me  in  the  indif- 
ferent, matter-of-fact  manner,  tinged  with  a  "  help-it-if-you- 
can  "  air,  which  most  Mormon  men  assume  towards  their 
helpless  wives.  Whenever  he  wished  particularly  to  tor- 
ture me,  he  would  threaten  to  take  another  wife,  and  name 
over  the  girls  whom  he  said  he  particularly  fancied. 

I  had  one  friend,  of  whom  I  was  very  fond.     He  became 


BEARING    THE    CROSS  —  I    BECOME   JEALOUS.  39! 

jealous  of  my  affection  for  her,  and  in  order  to  win  me 
from  her,  and  to  break  up  our  friendship,  he  pretended 
very  great  interest  in  her.  He  would  leave  me  to  go  home 
by  myself  from  the  theatre,  and  would  go  off  with  her  and  re- 
main a  long  time ;  then,  on  his  return,  would  tell  me  what 
he  said  was  the  conversation  between  them,  in  which  he 
would  represent  her  as  making  the  most  ardent  love  to 
him,  until,  at  last,  I  fairly  came  to  hate  her.  I  would  not 
see  her  if  I  possibly  could  help  it,  and  I  was  anything  but 
cordial  to  her  when  we  did  meet.  I  believe  now  that  my 
husband  lied  to  me  wickedly  and  deliberately ;  and  yet, 
such  was  the  effect  of  all  his  influence  on  me,  that  to  this 
day  I  cannot  see  my  old  friend  that  a  feeling  of  the  most 
intense  bitterness  does  not  rise  up  in  my  heart  against  her. 
I  never  could  get  back  the  old  feeling  of  affection  for  her, 
even  though  I  felt  that  I  was  wronging  her  by  my  unjust 
treatment ;  but  polygamy  does  not  tend  to  make  one  wo- 
man just  towards  another.  Suspicions,  jealousies,  heart- 
burnings, strifes  of  all  kinds  are  engendered  by  this  system, 
and  it  serves  to  lower  the  moral  tone  of  women  as  well  as  of 
men.  Both  are  sufferers  alike  in  this  respect,  although  pos- 
sibly in  a  different  degree.  The  women  have  all  through 
the  more  conscience  in  the  matter,  though  they  grow  bitter, 
and  spiteful,  and  revengeful,  while  "bearing  the  cross." 

I  know  I  did,  although  I  was  only  threatened  by  my 
husband ;  and  I  presume  I  annoyed  him  greatly  by  my 
tears  and  reproaches.  A  woman  in  Mormonism  has  need 
enough  for  tears,  but  it  is  little  use  for  her  to  shed  them ; 
they  only  bring  upon  her  the  ridicule  of  all  the  Mormon 
men,  from  her  husband  at  home  to  Brigham  in  the  Taber- 
nacle. This  is  the  sympathy  the  "  Head  of  the  Church  "  gives 
her  in  public.  Said  he,  in  one  of  his  most  famous  sermons  :  — 

"  It  is  said  that  women  are  tied  down  and  abused ;  that 
they  are  misused,  and  have  not  the  liberty  they  ought  to 
have ;  that  many  of  them  are  wading  through  a  perfect 
flood  of  tears,  because  of  the  conduct  of  some  men,  to- 
gether with  their  own  folly.. 


392 


THE    WOMEN. 


"  I  wish  my  own  women  to  understand  that  what  I  am 
going  to  say  is  for  them  as  well  as  for  others,  and  I  want 
those  who  are  here  to  tell  their  sisters,  — yes,  all  the  women 
of  this  community,  —  and  then  write  it  back  to  the  States, 
and  do  as  you  please  with  it.  I  am  going  to  give  you  from 
this  time  to  the  sixth  day  of  October  next  for  reflection, 
that  you  may  determine  whether  you  wish  to  stay  with  your 
husbands  or  not ;  and  then  I  am  going  to  set  every  woman 
at  liberty,  and  say  to  them,  ?  Now,  go  your  way  —  my  wo- 
men with  the  rest  —  go  your  way.'  And  my  wives  have 
got  to  do  one  of  two  things  :  either  round  up  their  shoul- 
ders to  endure  the  afflictions  of  this  world,  and  live  their 
religion,  or  they  may  leave,  for  I  will  not  have  them  about 
me.  I  will  go  into  heaven  alone,  rather  than  have  scratch- 
ing and  fighting  around  me.  I  will  set  all  at  liberty. 
f  What !  your  first  wife,  too?  '  Yes,  I  will  liberate  you  all. 
I  know  what  my  women  will  say.  They  will  say,  '  You 
can  have  as  many  women  as  you  please,  Brigham.'  But  I 
want  to  go  somewhere,  and  do  something,  to  get  rid  of  the 
whmers." 

Following  his  Prophet's  lead  comes  Jedediah  Grant,  in 
this  fashion :  — 

"  We  have  women  here  who  like  anything  but  the  Celes- 
tial Law  of  God  ;  and  if  they  could  break  asunder  the  cable 
of  the  Church  of  Christ,  there  is  scarcely  a  mother  in  Israel 
but  would  do  it  this  day." 

This  in  a  tone  of  the  sternest  reproof,  as  though  to  hate 
a  system  which  makes  them  the  most  abject  slaves,  under 
a  most  terrible  master,  was  a  crime.  When  women  go  to 
Brigham  Young  (as  now  and  then  one  is  foolish  enough  to 
do,  before  she  gets  thoroughly  to  know  her  Prophet  and 
his  peculiarities  of  temper  and  manner) ,  and  tell  him  of 
their  unhappiness,  and  ask  his  advice,  he  whines,  and  pre- 
tends to  cry,  and  mimics  them,  until  they  are  fairly  outraged 
by  his  heartless  treatment,  and  their  indignation  or  grief 
gets  the  supremacy  over  their  other  trouble.  Then  he  tells 


"MINE,  BODY  AND  SOUL!"  393 

them  to  go  home,  and  make  the  best  of  things,  and  not 
make  everlasting  fools  of  themselves ;  or  something  else 
equally  refined  and  consoling.  They  may  consider  them- 
selves fortunate,  indeed,  if  he  does  not  refer  to  the  inter- 
view in  his  next  Sunday's  sermon,  and  tell  the  names  of  the 
unhappy  women,  with  coarse  jests  and  unfeeling  comments, 
which  render  them  doubly  wretched,  since  their  husbands, 
incensed  at  them  for  complaining,  and  knowing  that  they 
are  perfectly  safe  from  priestly  indignation  or  rebuke,  make 
them  feel  the  weight  of  their  displeasure  by  grosser  neg- 
lect or  more  brutal  treatment. 

The  entire  ownership  of  women  is  nowhere  more  fully 
assumed  by  their  husbands  than  it  is  in  Utah.  A  woman 
is  obliged  to  submit  to  every  exaction  from  him,  to  grant 
every  request,  obey  every  demand.  In  return,  she  need  ex- 
pect nothing,  not  even  support.  "You  are  mine,  body  and 
soul,  but  you  have  no  right  to  claim  anything  from  me 
more  than  what  I  choose  to  give  you,"  is  the  attitude  of 
every  man  in  polygamy  towards  his  wives.  A  "blessed" 
system,  surely  !  It  is  no  wonder  that  Brigham  talks  about 
the  women's  "  rounding  up  their  shoulders  "  to  bear  it,  and 
one  certainly  fails  to  feel  the  surprise  which  "  Jeddy  "  proba- 
bly imagined  he  would  arouse  when  he  announced  that  the 
"  mothers  in  Israel,"  unhappy  and  desolate,  would  break 
"the  cable  of  the  church"  asunder  if  they  could.  This 
fanatical  follower  of  Brigham  Young  never  spoke  a  truer 
word  in  his  life,  whether  he  spake  by  inspiration  or  not. 
There  was  not  a  woman,  then,  who  would  not  have  broken 
her  chains  if  she  could,  let  the  whole  Mormon  Church  call 
these  fetters  what  they  might,  and  there  is  not  a  woman 
among  them  to-day  who  would  not  slip  her  fetters  if  she 
knew  how.  It  is  all  very  well  for  the  Mormon  leaders  and 
their  sympathizers  in  the  Gentile  world  to  say  that  the 
women  are  contented,  and  even  happy,  in  polygamy ;  the 
one  knows  he  speaks  what  is  not  true ;  the  other  tells  the 
tale  as  it  is  told  to  him,  refusing  to  use  his  eyes,  his  ears,  or 
his  crmmon  sense. 


394  "  WHY    NEED    WE    MEDDLE  ?  " 

Newspaper  correspondents  visit  Salt  Lake  City,  and  when 
they  arrive  they  are  brimming  over  with  disgust  and  indigna- 
tion towards  this  system  and  the  people  who  follow  it ;  but, 
by-and-by,  a  change  comes  over  them  ;  their  readers  are  in- 
formed that  the  Mormons  are  a  thriving,  industrious  people, 
their  men  brave,  hospitable,  shrewd,  and  hard-working; 
the  women  quiet  and  peaceful,  evidently  well  reconciled  to 
their  peculiar  marital  relations ;  that  Brigham  Young  is 
not  such  a  bad  fellow,  after  all,  and  his  sons  are  jolly,  free- 
handed, generous  men,  with  plenty  of  keenness,  and  a 
great  deal  of  knowledge  of  the  world ;  and  then  the  peo- 
ple who  read  their  letters  wonder  at  the  changed  tone,  and 
find  themselves  thinking  more  leniently  of  this  people  and 
its  peculiar  social  system  than  ever  before,  and  they  say, 
"If  all  this  is  true,  why  need  we  meddle?  "  But  it  is  not 
true,  not  one  word  of  it,  and  these  same  men  who  are 
writing  these  letters  know  it ;  but,  in  some  way,  they  get 
to  working  in  the  Prophet's  interests  before  they  leave  the 
Territory.  He  manages  to  get  hold  of  them  if  they  are 
of  any  ability,  and  able  to  influence  the  public,  and  if  they 
are  easily  influenced  themselves  they  soon  see  things  as  he 
intends  they  shall  see  them.  I  suppose  his  manner  of  influ- 
encing them  differs,  but  I  think  it  will  be  readily  under- 
stood. 

The  truth  is  simply  this :  the  Mormon  people  are  abso- 
lutely afraid  to  have  the  outside  world  come  too  close 
to  them ;  they  let  them  see  just  so  much,  but  not  one  bit 
more.  The  leaders  act  as  showmen,  also  as  mouthpieces, 
and  the  mass  of  the  people  are  but  a  cunningly  manipu- 
lated lot  of  marionettes,  who  perform  certain  antics  for  a 
curious  public,  while  the  shrewd  wire-puller  sits  behind, 
and  orders  every  movement,  and  makes  every  speech. 
There  has  been,  until  very  recently,  no  such  thing  as  getting 
at  the  absolute  truth  concerning  these  people ;  but  lately, 
since  the  Gentile  element  has  been  so  largely  increased  in 
Utah,  and  in  Salt  Lake  City  especially,  it  has  been  useless 
for  the  Saints  to  attempt  to  hide  their  real  condition. 


ARE    MORMON    WOMEN    UGLY?  395 

A  Mormon  wife-beater  is  as  mercilessly  exposed  through 
the  columns  of  the  Gentile  papers  as  the  Gentile  offender  of 
the  same  class,  and  the  nefarious  dealings  of  Mormon  offi- 
cials are  publicly  reproved  in  a  manner  that  does  not  tend 
to  make  them  comfortable  in  the  least.  The  miseries  caused 
by  this  cursed  system  are  fully  ventilated,  and  the  true  con- 
dition of  things  revealed.  When  flippant  newspaper  corre- 
spondents, after  a  visit  to  the  valley  of  the  Saints,  go  away 
and  write  in  terms  of  ridicule  of  the  Mormon  women,  calling 
them  fearfully  ugly  in  looks,  they  little  know  what  bitter, 
hard,  cruel  experiences  have  carved  the  deep  lines  round  the 
eyes  and  mouths,  and  made  the  faces  grow  repulsive  and 
grim,  and  taken  from  them  all  the  softness,  and  tenderness, 
and  grace  which  glorify  a  happy  woman's  face,  even  if  she 
be  ever  so  plain  of  feature.  If  these  men,  who  write  so 
carelessly,  could  only  see  the  interior  of  the  lives  that  they 
are  touching  with  such  a  rough,  rude  hand,  they  might  be, 
perhaps,  a  little  more  sympathetic  in  tone.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  the  women  of  Utah  are  not  beautiful ;  there  is  nothing 
in  all  their  lives  to  glorify  or  beautify  their  faces,  to  add  at 
all  to  their  mental  or  physical  charm  or  grace.  They  are 
pretty  enough  as  children  ;  as  young  girls  they  can  compare 
favorably  with  any  girls  I  have  seen  in  the  East ;  but  just 
so  soon  as  they  reach  womanhood  the  curse  of  polygamy  is 
forced  upon  them,  and  from  that  moment  their  lives  are 
changed,  and  they  grow  hard  or  die  —  one  of  the  two  —  in 
their  struggles  to  become  inured  to  this  unnatural  life. 
This  system  either  kills  its  victims  outright,  or  crushes  out 
every  bit  of  hope  and  ambition  from  them?  leaving  them 
aimless  and  apathetic,  dragging  out  existence  without  the 
least  ray  of  present  happiness  or  future  anticipation  to 
lighten  it. 

I  was  taught  from  my  earliest  childhood  that  there  was 
nothing  good  outside  of  the  Mormon  Church ;  that  the 
Gentile  men  were  bad  to  the  core,  possessing  neither  honor 
nor  manly  virtues  of  any  kind,  and  that  every  Gentile 


396 

woman  was  so  vile  as  to  be  utterly  unworthy  of  mention  ; 
that  goodness  was  unknown  among  them,  and  that  certain 
destruction  awaited  them  and  those  who  associated  with 
them.  My  mother  mourned  over  her  friends  and  relatives 
outside  of  Mormonism  as  lost  souls,  and  she  prayed  almost 
literally  "  without  ceasing "  that  they  might  be  shown  the 
true  way  before  it  was  too  late.  She  could  not  govern  her 
natural  affection.  She  must  love  them  ;  they  were  her  very 
own,  and  were  very  dear  to  her;  but  I  really  think,  es- 
pecially in  the  days  of  the  intense  religious  excitement,  that 
she  almost  hated  herself  for  loving  them  so  truly  and  so 
well.  She  wrote  them  the  most  pathetic  letters  of  entreaty, 
filled  with  alternate  pleadings  and  arguments,  begging 
them  to  come  to  Zion,  and  "make  sure  of  their  souls'  salva- 
tion." They,  in  turn,  pitied  her  delusion,  but  had  no  hope 
that  she  would  ever  escape  from  it ;  they  little  knew  that 
the  child,  whose  future  they  were  deploring,  would  one  day 
be  the  means  of  leading  that  mother  out  of  the  bondage  in 
which  she  was  held,  through  many  tears  and  much  tribula- 
tion, to  the  light  of  a  brighter,  more  comforting  faith. 

Conscience  and  an  almost  superstitious  belief  in  her  re- 
ligious leaders  made  her  cling  to  her  religion  long  after  reason 
taught  her  that  it  was  a  delusion,  and  made  her  accept  as  a 
sole  means  of  salvation  a  practice  which  her  whole  soul 
revolted  against.  It  is  well  that  the  Mormon  leaders  call  it 
a  "  cross."  It  is  simply  that,  and  the  hopelessness  of  it 
renders  it  the  more  difficult  to  bear.  There  is  no  prospect 
of  laying  it  down,  and,  unlike  the  cross  of  the  old  legend,  it 
never  becomes  flower-wreathed.  It  grows  heavier  as  the 
days  go  on,  until  it  bows  its  bearer  down  to  the  very  ground. 

I  learned  the  misery  of  even  a  monogamic  marriage  under 
polygamic  laws ;  and,  though  I  never  expressed  myself  so 
openly  on  the  subject,  I  yet  felt  an  intense  sympathy  with  a 
friend  of  mine,  who,  when  told  that  her  husband  thought  of 
taking  another  wife,  replied,  with  the  fire  flashing  from  her 
black  eyes,  "If  he  does,  I'll  kill  him!"  It  is  not  at  all 


BEING   "  SCHOOLED  "    FOR    THE    FUTURE  !  397 

likely  she  would  have  kept  her  word ;  she  would  probably 
have  settled  down,  as  so  many  women  like  her  have  done, 
into  a  sullen  sort  of  rebellion,  which  is  not  easy  to  subdue ; 
but  she  has  never  been  tried ;  her  husband  seems  as  indif- 
ferent to  the  charms  of  the  marriageable  young  ladies  about 
her  as  she  could  desire  :  yet  she  never  feels  entirely  safe. 
How  can  she,  when  she  knows  her  husband  is  constantly 
admonished  that  he  is  not  "living  up  to  his  privileges." 
The  sword  above  her  head  is  suspended  by  a  hair ;  it  is  a 
miracle  if  it  does  not  fall  at  last.  I  know  every  pang  of 
anxiety,  every  heart-throb  of  sick  expectation,  for  I  had  that 
selfsame  torture  for  two  years,  without  a  moment's  cessa- 
tion. I  do  not  know  how  I  bore  it ;  but  I  suppose  I  was  only 
being  schooled  for  what  came  afterwards. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 


MY  EARLY  MARRIED   LIFE.  — MY  HUSBAND   AND   MY 

MOTHER ! 

My  early  married  Life.  —  We  go  to  live  with  my  Mother.  —  Incompatibil- 
ity of  Temper.  —  How  my  Mother  had  opposed  our  Marriage.  —  My 
Husband  does  not  Admire  Her.  —  He  goes  after  the  Girls.  —  I  don't 
like  it  at  All.  —  I  become  extremely  angry  with  Him.  —  He  is  advised  to 
"increase  his  Kingdom."  —  How  promises  to  Wives  are  broken  by 
Mormon  Men.  —  How  Women  are  Snubbed  and  Undervalued. —  I 
become  Anxious  and  Watchful. — How  Heber  comforted  his  Wives. — 
My  Husband  subjects  me  to  personal  Violence.  —  He  is  afraid  of 
Results.  —  My  first  Baby  is  Born.  —  Zina  Young  marries  into  Poly- 
gamy.—  Contrast  between  Mormon  and  Gentile  Husbands. —  "The 
Bull  never  Cares  for  the  Calves."  —  My  Husband  nearly  strangles  me. 
—  I  leave  him,  and  go  to  my  Parents.  —  Brigham  gives  me  some  good 
Advice.  —  I  obtain  a  Divorce.  —  I  rejoice  at  being  free  Again. 


HEN  I  was  first  mar- 
ried, we  went  to  live 
in  the  house  with  my 
mother,  greatly  to  her 
delight,  as  she  could  not 
bear  a  separation  from 
me.  We  had  always 
been  together  so  closely, 
more  like  sisters  than 
like  mother  and  daugh- 
ter, and  both  of  us 
dreaded  very  much  to 
have  this  sweet  relation- 
ship broken.  I  had  been 
her  comfort  when  every 
other  stay  had  failed  her ; 
her  hope  when  she  was 
She  had  lived  in  me  and  for  me, 


FAMILY  JARS. 


almost  utterly  hopeless, 


LIVING   WITH   A    MOTHER-IN-LAW.  399 

and  my  happiness  and  welfare  had  been  her  constant  thought. 
She  had  opposed  my  marriage  as  a  duty,  and  because  she 
thought  she  saw  only  misery  for  me  in  the  relation ;  not  for 
a  want  of  sympathy  for  me,  for  it  really  hurt  her  more  to 
oppose  me  than  it  did  me  to  persist  in  spite  of  her  oppo- 
sition. I  had  been  her  companion  in  all  her  wanderings, 
and  the  confidante  alike  of  her  sorrows  and  joys,  and  it  was 
hard  for  her  to  think  of  parting  from  me,  even  though  I 
might  be  not  very  far  away  ;  still  our  interests  were  natu- 
rally somewhat  divided  when  I  came  to  give  the  first  place 
in  my  heart  to  another. 

My  husband  owned  a  house,  but  it  was  rented ;  so  until  it 
was  vacated  we  had  a  part  of  my  mother's  house,  where  we 
kept  house  quite  cosily,  and  should  have  been  very  happy, 
had  not  my  husband's  temper  and  desire  to  torment  me 
made  life  almost  unbearable.  I  tried,  as  far  as  I  could,  to 
hide  my  unhappiness  from  my  mother ;  but  I  did  not  suc- 
ceed. Her  motherly  eyes  were  too  keen,  her  maternal  in- 
stinct too  unerring,  to  be  deceived  by  my  silence,  although 
she  respected  my  reticence,  and  said  nothing  to  me ;  but  she 
showed  her  sympathy  in  a  hundred  nameless  ways.  My  hus- 
band knew  of  her  opposition  to  our  marriage,  and  he  did  not 
like  what  he  termed  her  interference ;  though  why  a  mother 
cannot  look  after  her  daughter's  interest  without  being  ac- 
cused of  interfering  is  even  now  a  mystery  to  me,  especially 
when,  seeing  that  her  advice  is  not  regarded,  she  withdraws 
all  "interference,"  and  makes  the  best  of  the  matter  that 
she  can.  But  some  persons  never  forget,  and  my  husband 
was  one  of  those ;  and  it  used  sometimes  to  seem  to  me  as 
though,  in  his  treatment  of  me,  he  was  revenging  himself 
for  the  opposition  shown  to  him  by  my  friends. 

I  used  to  hear  of  his  attentions  to  other  girls,  and  I  was 
furious,  while  I  knew  I  was  powerless.  My  visitors  — 
many  of  whom  came  only  when  they  had  anything  to  tell  — 
used  to  tell  me  that  they  saw  James  at  the  theatre  with  this 
young  lady,  or  met  him  going  home  with  that,  or  that  he 


4OO  STORMY    INTERVIEWS. 

passed  them  walking  with  another,  until  I  was  madly  jeal- 
ous of  every  girl  of  my  acquaintance.  I  no  longer  took 
pleasure  in  their  society,  for  I  saw  in  each  one  a  probable 
rival,  and  a  possible  addition  to  our  household.  It  was  no 
consolation  to  me  to  remember  that  my  husband  had  prom- 
ised me  never  to  take  another  wife ;  I  had  learned  what 
the  promise  of  a  man  living  under  polygamic  laws 
amounts  to.  It  is  given  as  a  sort  of  sedative,  and  if  it 
soothes  temporarily,  that  is  all  that  is  required  of  it.  It  is 
considered  no  sin  to  break  a  promise  of  this  kind ;  indeed, 
it  would  rather  seem  that  it  is  accounted  sin  for  him  to  keep 
it ;  and  I  knew  that  my  husband  was,  as  well  as  other  men, 
occasionally  reminded  that  it  was  his  duty  to  make  his 
kingdom  larger  as  speedily  as  possible,  by  taking  another 
wife,  or  more  than  one  if  he  liked. 

We  had  many  very  stormy  interviews  on  this  subject ; 
he  used  to  discuss  my  callers,  and  especially  the  pretty 
girls,  as  most  Mormon  men  discuss  women,  with  reference 
to  their  "points,"  as  jockeys  would  talk  of  horses,  or  im- 
porters of  fine  stock.  Polygamy  does  not  tend  to  enhance 
the  value  of  womanly  dignity  and  grace,  and  very  little 
respect  for  them  is  either  expressed  or  felt  by  one  brought 
up  under  its  baneful  influence. 

It  is  strange  how  quickly  men,  in  a  polygamous  commu- 
nity, lose  that  chivalrous  courtesy  which  characterizes  men 
elsewhere.  It  seemed  so  strange  to  me  to  see  the  defer- 
ence shown  to  my  sex  when  I  left  Utah,  and  came,  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life,  among  people  living  under  monogamic 
laws.  I  was  particularly  struck  by  the  tenderness  and  con- 
sideration which  men  showed  towards  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren ;  and  I  wondered  to  see  the  women,  claiming,  with  a 
confidence  that  assured  me  they  were  used  to  it,  and  con- 
sidered that  it  belonged  to  them,  their  husbands'  attention 
and  care.  It  was  strange,  too,  to  see  the  deference  shown 
to  a  woman  by  the  young  men  and  boys ;  and  when  once, 
in  a  car,  I  saw  a  manly  little  fellow,  about  twelve  or  thir- 


MY    HUSBAND    AND    I.  40! 

teen  years  of  age,  rise  with  a  rare  grace,  and  give  his  seat 
to  an  old  lady,  the  tears  sprang  to  my  eyes,  such  an  unac- 
customed sight  was  it.  I  contrasted  that  boy  with  the 
youth  of  Utah,  and  I  felt  with  a  new  indignation  flashing 
through  all  my  veins,  and  a  new  sorrow  tugging  at  my 
heart,  the  curse  that  polygamy  was  to  the  young  men,  as 
well  as  to  the  young  girls,  who  are  growing  up  under  the 
teachings  of  that  baneful  system.  It  is  horrible  !  It  fouls 
and  poisons  the  stream  at  its  very  source  (and  it  adds  mud 
and  filth  as  it  crawls  along  its  slimy  way),  sending  up  its 
noxious  vapors,  until  it  has  bred  a  most  pestilent  moral 
malaria,  which  nothing  but  the  cool,  clear  air  of  religious 
liberty  and  education  shall  ever  dispel  and  purify. 

Why  cannot  men  and  women,  outside  of  this  terrible 
system,  see  the  horrors  of  it,  and  work  for  its  overthrow? 
My  soul  cries  out  in  very  agony  sometimes,  '  Is  there  no 
help  for  this  great  evil  ? '  Everywhere  the  world  seems  so 
dead  to  it !  the  enormity  does  not  seem  to  manifest  itself 
unto  them.  They  speak  lightly  of  Mormonism,  as  of 
something  to  ridicule  or  laugh  at,  rather  than  to  condemn. 
God  knows  there  is  nothing  laughable  or  ridiculous  in  it  to 
its  victims.  It  is  the  most  pathetic,  tragic  earnestness  and 
reality. 

I  am  not  imagining  situations,  and  growing  pathetic  over 
creations  of  my  own  fancy.  I  know  what  I  say,  for  I  have 
suffered  it.  There  is  not  a  pang,  not  a  throb  of  anguish 
which  I  have  depicted  that  I  have  not  felt  myself. 

My  health,  which  was  never  very  good,  gave  way  under 
the  terrible  mental  and  physical  strain  to  which  I  was  sub- 
jected, and  I  was  in  danger  of  becoming  a  confirmed  inva- 
lid. My  physical  condition  did  not  make  my  husband 
more  tender  or  thoughtful,  but  he  seemed  to  consider  it  a 
wrong  towards  himself,  and  took  an  aggrieved  tone  be* 
cause  of  it.  He  had  worthy  examples,  to  be  sure  ;  for  Brig- 
ham  himself  grumbles  loudly  when  one  of  his  wives  falls 
ill,  even  if  it  is  from  overwork  for  his  welfare,  and  com- 
26 


4O2  MATRIMONIAL   FIGHTING. BLOWS  ! 

plains  that  ff  he  never  marries  a  woman  that  she  doesn't 
get  sick  to  shirk  work."  Heber  C.  Kimball,  on  being 
called  once  to  see  one  of  his  wives  who  had  broken  her 
arm,  accosted  her,  on  his  entrance  to  her  room,  with, 
"Why  didn't  you  break  your  neck  at  once,  and  done  with 
it?"  And  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that  two  of  Orson  Pratt's 
wives  have  died  of  neglect  during  illness.  Since  the  men 
high  in  authority  set  the  example,  what  could  you  expect 
of  the  followers? 

Although  my  husband  had  often  threatened  me  with  per- 
sonal violence,  in  addition  to  the  insults  and  persecution  he 
was  constantly  subjecting  me  to,  he  never  offered  any  until 
about  a  month  before  my  baby  was  born.  He  made  some 
request  of  me  which  I  was  totally  unable  to  grant,  and  in 
his  fury  at  what  he  termed  my  stubbornness  and  rebellion, 
he  struck  me  violently,  and  I  fell  insensible  before  him. 

Then  he  was  frightened  for  once ;  he  raised  me  up, 
carried  me  to  my  bed,  and  used  every  exertion  to  bring  me 
to  myself.  He  was  afraid  the  blow  was  fatal,  and  he  was 
remorseful  enough.  When,  at  last,  I  regained  my  senses, 
he  begged  my  forgiveness,  poured  out  a  torrent  of  self- 
reproaches,  and  for  a  little  while  was  more  like  my  old 
lover,  the  man  whom  I  had  cared  for  so  tenderly,  than  he 
had  been  since  our  marriage.  I  very  quickly  forgave  him  : 
it  was  so  sweet  to  feel  the  old  tenderness  again,  that  I  could 
in  a  moment  forget  all  that  had  passed  between,  and  I 
readily  agreed  not  to  let  my  family  know  of  this  last  out- 
rage. He  knew,  as  well  as  I,  that  my  father  and  brothers 
would  take  me  from  him,  and  he  really  did  not  wish  to  lose 
me ;  and  as  for  me,  he  was  my  husband,  and  the  father  of 
my  unborn  child,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  little  life  which  I 
held  in  trust,  I  could  not  bear  to  go  away  from  him.  I 
had  hoped,  O,  so  fondly  !  that  the  child  would  bring  us 
nearer,  and  I  could  not  give  up  the  hope ;  and  when  he 
stood  before  me  so  penitent,  and  so  tender,  I  was  ready  to 
feel  that  he  had  always  been  the  same. 


4°3 

But  I  was  doomed  to  disappointment ;  after  the  birth  of 
my  child,  it  seemed  as  though  the  fits  of  passion  were  more 
frequent  and  of  longer  duration.  He  neglected  me,  and 
was  scarcely  at  home  at  all.  He  did  not  care  for  my  baby, 
seeming  to  consider  it  a  rival,  and  my  love  for  it  seemed  to 
anger  him.  But  what  a  comfort  the  baby  was  to  me  !  How 
I  loved  it!  All  the  tide  of  my  affection,  that  had  been 
so  rudely  repelled,  turned  towards  it,  and  I  felt  that  all  the 
interest  of  my  life  was  centred  therein.  Like  all  Mormon 
women,  robbed  of  a  husband's  love  and  care,  I  should  live 


in  and  for  my  child.  I  knew  very  well  that  as  far  as  re- 
gaining my  husband's  real  affection  was  concerned  —  if,  in- 
deed, I  had  ever  possessed  it,  —  the  future  was  hopeless  ;  so 
I  expected  nothing  from  it  further,  and  resigned  myself  to 
the  inevitable  more  quietly  than  I  could  have  believed  I 
ever  should  have  done ;  but  my  child  made  resignation 
more  easy. 

The  little  fellow  was  very  bright  and  winning,  and  I 
used  to  imagine  that  he  understood  my  feelings,  and  sym- 
pathized with  me  in  his  baby  way.  The  little  hands  stray- 


404  CROSS    ABOUT   A   BABY  ! 

ing  over  my  face  and  neck  were  full  of  sweet  comfort ;  the 
blue  eyes  raised  to  mine  in  baby  confidence  were  full  of 
love ;  the  little  mouth  which  I  covered  with  kisses  never 
failed  to  smile  back  at  me,  and  I  even  forgot  to  cry  under 
the  sweet,  restful  influence  which  the  dimpled,  rosy  little 
bit  of  humanity  brought  into  my  heart. 

But  this  exquisite  happiness  was  of  short  duration  ;  for, 
after  a  few  months,  my  baby  grew  very  ill ;  and  God  only 
knows  how  I  suffered  then.  I  watched  over  him  day  and 
night,  and  my  devotion  to  him  angered  my  husband  be- 
yond measure.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  or  for  me  in 
those  days  of  trial ;  and  in  addition  to  seeing  my  baby  pin- 
ing away,  until  it  seemed  that  it  must  some  day  drift  out 
of  my  clinging  arms  into  the  great  unknown,  unexplored 
sea  beyond,  I  had  to  endure  the  constant  abuse  from  the 
man  who  should  at  that  time  have  been  my  stay  and  my 
comfort.  But  what  Mormon  mother  ever  gets  the  tender 
care  from  her  baby's  father  that  other  happier  mothers  get? 
No  time  or  place  is  so  sacred  that  polygamy  does  not  obtrude 
its  ugly  presence.  A  mother  may  not  mourn  for  her  child 
without  feeling  the  heartless  intrusion,  as  the  following 
little  instance  will  show. 

A  man  named  Thomas  Williams  emigrated  from  England 
with  his  wife  and  children,  all  eager  to  reach  "  Zion,"  the 
promised  land  of  the  Saint's  inheritance.  He  was  a  very 
devout  Mormon,  and  was  easily  induced  to  accept  poly- 
gamy. He  took  for  his  second  wife  Zina  Young,  a  daughter 
of  Brigham  and  Zina  Huntington,  an  enthusiastic,  consci- 
entious believer  in  polygamy,  and  a  genuinely  good,  gen- 
erous girl,  of  the  most  kindly  impulses,  but,  unfortunately, 
wrongly  trained,  as  all  girls  are  under  this  system. 

His  first  wife  never  had  believed  in  the  plural-wife  sys- 
tem, and  was  never  reconciled  to  her  husband's  second 
marriage.  She  mourned  bitterly  about  it;  and,  very  nat- 
urally, her  feelings  towards  her  rival  were  not  kindly  or 
pleasant.  The  husband  knew  this  perfectly  well ;  and  yet, 


MY   BOYS  !  405 

when  her  little  baby  died,  and  she  was  almost  mad  with 
grief,  he  insisted  on  bringing  the  second  wife  to  the  funeral 
as  one  of  the  family.  The  mother  was  almost  beside  her- 
self at  what  she  considered  this  insult  to  her  dead  child, 
and  she  declared  that  Zina  should  not  come.  Her  husband, 
of  course,  overruled  her ;  for  when,  in  polygamy,  does  a  wife 
ever  have  her  own  way?  But  Mrs.  Williams  refused  to 
recognize  her,  and  would  not  allow  her  to  sit  in  the  room 
with  her  and  the  child. 

I  was  spared  this  torture,  for  there  was  no  second  wife 
to  measure  my  misery,  and  God  was  good,  and  spared  my 
child.  He  repaid  all  my  anxious  care,  and  put  the  child 
into  my  arms  well  and  comparatively  strong,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  intrusted  another  helpless  one  to  my  care.  I 
had  lost,  at  that  time,  much  of  my  faith  in  my  religion.  I 
think  I  should  have  lost  my  belief  in  God  Himself,  had  my 
baby  been  taken  from  me.  But  He  knew  how  much  I  could 
bear,  and  he  spared  me  this  last  bitter  sorrow. 

I  had  been  at  first  jealous  of  the  little  new-comer  for  the 
other  baby's  sake,  who  was  only  a  little  over  a  year  old 
when  the  second  one  came  ;  but  I  soon  found  that  I  had  love 
enough  in  my  heart  for  the  two.  My  boys  !  How  fond, 
and  proud,  and  even  happy  I  was  with  them ! 

The  measure  of  my  love  seemed  to  be  the  measure  of 
their  father's  indifference,  and  even  hate.  He  used  to  either 
take  no  notice  of  them  at  all,  which  I  infinitely  preferred, 
or  he  would  handle  them  so  roughly  that  the  little  things 
would  shriek  with  pain  and  terror,  and  I  would  be  almost 
frantic  with  fear  lest  he  should  kill  them  in  his  mad  frolics, 
which  usually  ended  in  a  fit  of  temper  because  they  cried 
at  his  rude  treatment. 

As  I  was  on  my  way  East,  I  witnessed  a  little  scene  that 
called  up  painfully  the  contrast  between  this  father's  indif- 
ference and  another  father's  care.  In  one  car  was  a  lady 
with  two  children ;  one  a  little  girl  about  eight  years  old, 
and  a  cunning  baby  boy,  who  was  just  beginning  to  lisp  in 


406  THE  BULL  AND  THE  CALVES  ! 

that  wonderful  baby  prattle  that  is  so  sweet  to  hear.  As  we 
stopped  at  a  station,  a  gentleman  came  in,  his  face  beaming 
with  pleasure  and  expectation.  The  moment  the  children 
saw  him,  the  little  girl  cried  out  with  joy,  "  O,  my  dear  papa 
has  come  ! "  and  simultaneously  mother  and  child  clasped 
'their  arms  about  his  neck  and  kissed  him.  The  baby  threw 
up  his  arms,  and  crowed  out,  "Papa,  papa  !"  and  as  he  took 
the  little  fellow  in  his  arms,  and  fairly  rained  kisses  over  the 
rosy,  delighted  little  face,  the  tears  sprang  to  my  eyes,  and  I 
had  fairly  to  hide  my  face,  for  my  cheeks  were  moist,  and 
my  mouth  would  quiver,  as  I  thought  of  the  father's  love, 
of  which  my  children  were  robbed  —  of  which  all  children 
in  Utah  are  robbed  —  by  a  fiendish  system,  given  by  a 
corrupt  priesthood  under  the  guise  of  a  "  Revelation  "  from 
God. 

What  a  sarcasm  on  the  infinite,  tender,  all-pervading 
love  of  the  Divine  Father  ! 

Such  a  scene  as  this  would  be  simply  impossible  in  Utah, 
among  that  community  whose  religious  leader  says,  in  his 
peculiarly  refined  style  and  expression,  when  his  lack  of 
fatherly  atteiition  to  his  children  is  noticed  and  commented 
upon,  "  Well,  the  bull  never  takes  any  care  of  his  calves," 
and  whose  chief  apostles  allow  their  children  to  grow  up 
without  support  or  training  from  them,  since  they  are  too 
busy  in  extolling  the  beauties  of  polygamy  to  the  new  con- 
verts, to  give  even  decent  attention  to  the  children  whom 
they  have  summoned  into  the  world  under  this  "  glorious 
institution." 

Two  weeks  before  baby  was  born,  I  was  sitting  one 
morning  with  the  elder  boy  on  my  lap,  my  husband  being 
in  the  room,  when  one  of  my  father's  wives'  children,  a 
little  fellow  about  three  years  old,  came  toddling  in.  Mr. 
Dee,  happening  to  want  something,  asked  the  child  to  get 
it  for  him.  The  article  in  question  was  on  a  shelf,  out  of 
the  child's  reach,  and  to  get  it  he  would  have  to  stand  on  a 
chair,  and  even  then  his  tiny  fingers  could  but  just  touch  it. 


A    LITTLE    FAMILY    LOVE-SCENE. 


407 


There  was  a  heavy  jar  on  the  shelf,  which  I  feared  he 
might  pull  down  upon  himself,  and  I  remonstrated  against 
his  trying  to  get  it.  I  offered  to  reach  it  myself,  but  my 
husband  instantly  turned  and  forbade  my  leaving  my  chair, 
saying  that  the  child  should  bring  him  what  he  desired. 

"  But  he  must  not,"  I  cried,  in  an  agony  of  terror. 

"I  tell  you  he  shall,"  was  my  husband's  answer. 

The  child  stood  looking  from  one  to  the  other,  half  crying 


STRANGLED  BY  MY  HUSBAND. 


with  fear,  and  yet  scarcely  daring  to  disobey  the  command 
that  had  been  given  to  him. 

"  Louis,  fetch  it  to  me  instantly,"  commanded  he  again. 

"  Louis,  you  shall  not,"  said  I,  half  rising  from  my  chair. 

In  an  instant,  my  husband,  maddened  with  fury  that  I 
should  dare  to  contradict  him,  seized  me  by  the  throat,  and 
threw  me  back  into  the  chair.  The  screams  of  the  terrified 
child  brought  my  mother  into  the  room  at  once.  She 
snatched  the  baby  from  my  arms,  which  I  still  held  clasped 


408  NEARLY    STRANGLED    BY   MY    HUSBAND. 

convulsively,  while  my  husband's  fingers  were  tightening 
about  my  throat.  I  was  dizzy  with  pain,  and  almost  suffo- 
cated from  the  grip ;  but  my  maternal  instinct  was  stronger 
than  the  pain,  and  I  never  relaxed  my  hold  on  my  child. 

My  mother  called  my  father,  and  he  came  and  rescued 
me  from  the  infuriated  man  who  held  me,  and  carried  me 
into  my  mother's  room.  Until  that  time  they  had  known 
nothing  of  the  treatment  which  I  received  from  my  hus- 
band. They  knew  that  I  was  unhappy,  but  so  was  every 
woman  ;  so  I  was  by  no  means  isolated  in  my  misery.  But 
I  had  managed  to  keep  from  them  all  knowledge  of  the 
violent  treatment  I  had  received  at  his  hands.  Their  indig- 
nation at  finding  it  out  was  beyond  all  bounds ;  for  when 
once  it  was  known,  my  tongue  was  loosened,  and  I  poured 
into  the  sympathizing  ears  of  mother  and  father  the  whole 
story  of  my  wrongs.  I  left  nothing  untold,  and  it  was 
such  a  relief  to  let  loose  the  torrent  of  misery  that  had  been 
so  long  pent  up  in  my  heart ! 

My  parents  and  brothers  decided  at  once  that  I  must 
leave  him ;  and  indeed,  I  was  afraid,  both  for  myself  and 
for  my  children,  to  return  to  him  again.  He  tried  to  see 
me  in  every  possible  way,  but  was  refused  admittance  to 
my  mother's  rooms.  The  door  of  communication  that  led 
between  her  rooms  and  those  I  had  previously  occupied 
was  securely  locked,  and  he  was  bidden  by  my  father  to 
vacate  the  rooms  as  speedily  as  possible.  He  then  de- 
manded to  see  me ;  he  tried  threats,  entreaties,  every 
means  that  he  could  devise,  but  I  was  carefully  guarded, 
and  he  could  gain  access  neither  to  me  nor  the  children. 

He  was  loud  in  his  threats  to  take  the  children  from  me, 
and  I  was  in  terrible  fear  lest  he  should  in  some  way  gain 
possession  of  them.  I  knew  that  it  would  not  be  love  for 
them  which  would  impel  him,  but  a  desire  to  strike  me 
where  it  would  wound  me  most ;  and  he  knew  that  he 
could  reach  me  in  no  other  way  so  surely  as  through  my 
children.  Since  he  had  become  convinced  that  I  would 


I   WAS    DIVORCED  !  409 

never  return  to  him,  that  of  my  own  free  will  I  gave  him 
up  for  ever,  he  seemed  possessed  by  a  spirit  of  fury,  and 
vowed  all  manner  of  vengeance  on  me. 

In  order  to  get  me  out  of  his  power,  my  parents  deter- 
mined that  I  should  be  divorced  from  him  without  delay, 
and,  like  conscientious  church  people,  they  consulted  Pres- 
ident Young.  He  and  George  Q^  Cannon,  who  was  also 
in  our  confidence,  both  took  very  active  measures  in  my 
behalf.  There  were  two  ways  in  which  I  could  procure  a 
divorce  —  one  from  Brigham,  which  was  considered  valid 
in  the  church,  but  I  suppose  would  not  stand  the  test  of 
law  ;  the  other  from  the  Probate  Court.  Brigham  strongly 
advised  the  latter,  as,  in  case  my  husband  should  ever 
apostatize,  he  could  not  take  my  children  from  me.  He 
behaved,  all  through  the  affair,  in  such  a  kind,  friendly 
manner  that  my  confidence  in  him  was  fully  secured.  I 
had  at  that  time  no  thought  of  what  the  future  would  bring, 
and  certainly  never  dreamed  of  any  closer  relationship  with 
him.  My  whole  thought  was  to  get  free  from  my  husband, 
and  to  have  my  children  so  securely  that  he  could  not  take 
them  from  me.  They  were  my  only  thought,  my  only 
care. 

I  say  this  because,  since  I  have  renounced  Mormonism, 
Brigham  Young  and  his  followers  have  said  that  I  left  my 
first  husband  on  purpose  to  become  his  wife  —  a  statement 
which  no  one  better  knows  to  be  false,  than  Brigham  him- 
self. He  it  was  who  counselled  me  to  go  to  the  regular 
courts,  rather  than  depend  on  his  divorcement,  which  he 
knew  would  not  stand  out  of  Mormondom,  and  he  and  his 
apostle  Cannon  rendered  me  the  most  valuable  and  untiring 
assistance,  which  I  accepted  gladly,  as  I  would  have 
accepted  aid  from  any  quarter  in  this  extremity. 

I  was  divorced  in  1865,  and  the  decree  stands  to-day  in 
the  Court  Records  of  Utah.  Since  the  memory  of  my  Mor- 
mon friends  seems  so  treacherous,  I  will  copy  the  records 
here  as  they  stand.  They  may  also  convince  some  doubt- 

\ 


4IO  WHAT    THE    COURT    DECREED. 

ers  who  seem  to  place  Brigham  Young's  denial  before  my 
complaint,  and  pin  their  faith  to  him,  while  regarding  me 
doubtfully  as  a  possible  adventuress. 

"  PROBATE  COUNTY  DOCKET.  \_Page  5-] 

"  Great  Salt  Lake  County.  —  Ann  Eliza  Dee  vs.  James  L.  Dee. 

"  In  Divorce. 

"1865.  December  9th.  —  Petition  filed;  summons  and  notice 
issued,  returnable  on  23d  inst.,  at  10  p.  M. 

"  December  23d.  —  Case  called  ;  returns  made  and  decree  made 
dissolving  bonds  of  matrimony,  and  giving  to  plaintiff  the  custody 
and  control  of  her  children.  Costs  taxed  to  defendant. 

"  1866.  March  3d.  —  Court  ordered  execution  against  defend- 
ant for  costs  of  suit. 

"  March  8th.  —  Execution  issued  for  $20.50,  returnable  in  20 
days. 

"  March  28th.  —  Execution  returned  ;  no  property  found  ;  clerk's 
fees  paid  by  C.  G.  Webb,  in  meat. 

\_Page  516.] 
"  RECORDS  OF  PROBATE  COURT,  GREAT  SALT  LAKE  COUNTY. 

"1865.  Dec.  23d.  —  Ten  o'clock,  A.  M.  Court  opened.  Rec- 
ords of  1 6th  and  2Oth  insts.  read  and  signed. 

"  The  case  of  Ann  Eliza  Dee  vs.  James  L.  Dee,  in  divorce,  was 
called  up.  This  case  came  up  for  hearing  upon  the  petition  of 
Ann  Eliza  Dee,  formerly  Ann  Eliza  Webb,  and  upon  the  investi- 
gation thereof  ex  parte^  the  defendant,  James  L.  Dee,  failing  to 
appear,  C.  G.  Webb  and  Ann  Vine  being  sworn  and  examined, 
the  allegations  in  the  plaintiff's  petition  were  taken  as  confessed, 
and  thereupon,  after  hearing  the  evidence  and  being  fully  advised 
in  the  premises,  it  was  ordered  and  decreed  by  the  court  that  the 
bonds  of  matrimony  heretofore  existing  between  the  said  parties 
be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  for  ever  dissolved.  That  said  Ann 
Eliza  shall  have  and  retain  the  custody  and  control  of  her  two  in- 
fant children,  James  Edward  and  Lorenzo  Dee,  during  their  minor- 
ity, and  that  defendant  pay  costs  of  suit. 

(Signed,)  "E.  SMITH, 

"  Judge  of  Probate  Court? 


ONLY    BABY    ARMS  !  4!  I 

If  anyone  doubts  my  copy,  they  can  examine  the  records 
for  themselves. 

My  Christmas  that  year  was  a  merrier  one  than  I  had 
seen  for  several  years.  My  children  were  mine,  —  my  very, 
very  own  ;  and  no  one  could  take  them  from  me.  I  clasped 
them  in  my  arms.  I  kissed  them  again  and  again  in  an 
ecstasy  of  affection.  Henceforth  I  was  father,  mother, 
all  to  them  ;  no  one  would  dispute  with  me  for  their  affec- 
tion, no  one  claim  their  love.  I  was  supremely,  selfishly 
happy.  True,  my  romance  had  died  ;  my  idol,  with  its  feet 
of  clay,  was  broken ;  but  maternal  love  took  the  place  of 
the  girl's  romance,  and  the  little  souls  which  had  been 
given  into  my  charge  were  more  beautiful  than  any  idol 
which  I  had  been  able  to  build  for  myself.  I  was  saddened 
by  all  my  disappointments,  quieted  by  all  my  trials,  sub- 
dued in  spirit  by  the  constant  exercise  of  patience.  I  had 
lost  my  girlish  gaiety  and  vivacity,  but  I  had  gained  the 
poise  and  assurance  of  womanhood,  and  was,  I  hoped,  better 
fitted  to  be  a  good  mother  to  my  children,  which,  at  that 
time,  was  the  only  ambition  1  had,  and  my  only  interest  for 
the  entire  future  was  in  them.  I  dreamed  for  them,  I 
planned  for  them,  lived  in  them ;  and  I  am  only  regretful 
that  any  thing*  ever  divided  my  interest  with  them. 

But  after  the  one  shadow  was  lifted,  before  the  other  fell, 
I  was  royally  happy,  —  happier  than  I  ever  was  in  my  life 
before,  circled  about  as  I  was  by  clinging  baby  arms,  and 
held  by  tiny  baby  hands. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


AFTER  MY   DIVORCE.  — AFFAIRS   AT  HOME. 

After  my  Divorce  from  Dee.  —  "Is  Polygamy  Good  to  Eat?"  —  Curious 
Experiences  Among  the  Saints.  —  A  Man  Who  Thought  His  Heart  was 
Broken.  —  How  Two  Wives  Rebelled.  —  The  Husband  in  a  Fix.  —  He 
Runs  Away  from  Home.  —  Dismisses  his  Plural  Wife.  —  Being  "  Sealed  " 
to  Old  Women  for  Eternity.  —  Nancy  Chamberlain's  Story.  —  Who  is 
to  be  Brigham's  Queen  in  Heaven.  —  An  Old  Wife  Dresses  Up  as  a 
Ghost.  —  How  Brother  Shaw  Replenished  his  Exchequer.  —  The  Bat- 
tles Between  my  Father's  Wives.  —  My  Mother  Enjoys  his  Troubles. 
— The  Story  of  a  Turkey.  —  A  First  Wife  Asserts  Her  Rights.  —  My 
Life  at  South  Cottonwood.  —  I  Receive  Offers  of  Marriage. 

FTER  my  divorce,  I 
went  with  my  mother 
to  live  at  my  father's 
farm  in  South  Cotton- 
wood. 

Here,  I  think,  I  was 
happier  than  I  had 
ever  before  been  in  my 
life.  My  health  was 
much  improved,  and 
what  with  the  care  of 
mv  children  and  the 

*/ 

portion  of  the  house- 
hold duties  which  I 
assumed  to  assist  my 
mother,  my  days  were 
well  filled.  My  boys 
were  growing  healthy,  hearty,  rollicking  fellows,  and  they 
returned  my  care  with  all  the  love  which  the  most  jealous 
heart  could  desire. 


GRANDMA,  WHAT  is  POLYGAMY?" 


"GRANDMA,    DO    YOU    LIKE    POLYGAMY?"  413 

How  thankful  I  was  that  they  were  not  girls !  I  knew 
too  well  the  troubles  of  my  sex  in  polygamy  to  wish  to  bring 
one  girl  into  the  world,  who,  under  the  system,  would  be 
sure  to  endure  such  certain  suffering.  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  teach  my  boys  to  shun  it,  even  if  it  was  a  vital  part  of 
my  religion.  I  was  willing  to  accept  all  else  that  Mormon- 
ism  taught,  and  to  teach  its  underlying  principles  to  my 
boys ;  but  that  I  could  teach  them  was  right. 

Young  as  they  were,  they  realized  something  of  poly- 
gamy from  hearing  it  constantly  talked  of;  for  when  any 
two  women  meet,  it  is  the  chief  topic  of  their  conversa- 
tion, and  they  knew  enough  to  discover  that  it  was  some- 
thing that  was  decidedly  unpleasant ;  but  what  it  was,  they, 
of  course,  had  not  the  slightest  idea.  Still,  with  the  curi- 
osity natural  to  children,  they  were  determined  to  come  to 
the  truth  of  it  some  way  or  other. 

One  day,  my  youngest  boy,  then  a  little  over  three  years 
old,  astonished  my  mother  by  asking,  very  abruptly, — 

"Grandma,  do  you  like  polygamy?" 

"Not  at  all,"  was  the  reply,  wondering  what  would  come 
next. 

"Is  polygamy  good  to  eat?  "  was  the  next  inquiry  of  this 
youthful  investigator. 

My  mother  thought  that  it  was  not  very  palatable ;  at 
least  she  had  not  found  it  so,  and  as  far  as  her  observation 
went,  she  had  not  seen  anyone  who  relished  it  particularly. 

The  men  had  their  "  crosses  "  in  polygamy  as  well  as  the 
women,  and  I  must  confess  that  I  was  wicked  enough  to 
enjoy  their  small  "miseries,"  they  seemed  so  insignificant 
beside  their  wives' ;  but  as  is  the  case  generally,  I  fancy, 
they  bore  them  with  much  less  patience.  The  chief  mascu- 
line troubles  seem  to  be,  that  they  cannot,  with  all  their  try- 
ing, make  their  plural  wives  agree  and  dwell  together  in 
the  "  sweet  unity "  which  is  so  delightful  and  so  essential 
to  entire  family  happiness,  and  that  they  cannot  make  the 
wives,  or  wife,  they  already  have,  welcome  with  any  great 


414  A  NICE   YOUNG    WIDOW  ! 

show  of  cordiality  the  proposal  to  add  another  to  the  family 
circle. 

Not  very  long  before  my  apostasy,  while  visiting  at  the 
house  of  a  friend,  I  was  introduced  to  a  man,  who,  my 
friend  afterwards  told  me,  was  almost  heart-broken  at  the 
dreadful  conduct  of  his  wife.  My  sympathies  went  out 
at  once  to  the  sufferer,  and  I  inquired  what  indiscretion,  or 
crime,  his  wife  had  been  guilty  of.  "  O,"  said  my  friend, 
*  she  is  determined  that  he  shall  not  take  another  wife,  and 
fights  against  it  all  the  time,  and  he  has  just  buried  two 
children  ;  and,  all  together,  he  is  completely  bowed  down  by 
grief." 

This  was  before  I  had  dared  to  give  my  honest  opinion,  and 
I  was  silent ;  but  my  heart  ached  for  the  poor  mother  whose 
babies  were  dead,  and  whose  husband,  not  content  with  her 
love,  was  denouncing  her  to  his  friends  because  she  was 
unwilling  to  have  polygamy  added  to  her  other  burdens. 

A  man  in  Utah,  whom  I  knew  very  well,  married  a  young 
widow  for  a  second  wife,  his  first  strongly  disapproving  of 
the  principles  of  polygamy.  She  had  by  no  means  a  sub- 
missive spirit,  and  she  sought  revenge  by  the  only  means 
in  her  power  —  by  tormenting  her  husband  in  all  possible 
ways. 

He,  like  all  good  Mormon  brethren,  intended  to  build  up 
a  "celestial  kingdom"  after  the  "  divinely  ordained  plan," 
and  he  wished  his  wives  to  live  together.  There  was  no 
use  talking,  he  said ;  they  must  agree  well  enough  for  that, 
as  he  did  not  intend  to  build  another  house.  So  he  com- 
menced this  plan  ;  but  he  found,  after  a  few  days,  that  what- 
ever it  might  be  in  the  future,  it  was  far  from  "  celestial " 
here.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  peace  in  the  house. 
His  Prophet  had  often  told  him  that  if  he  could  not  rule 
his  earthly  kingdom,  he  never  would  be  fit  to  be  a  king  in 
the  world  to  come  ;  and  as  he  was  very  ambitious  for  royal 
honors,  he  was  in  terrible  grief  and  perplexity.  But  how 
to  govern  two  unruly  women  was  quite  beyond  him.  His 


KEY-HOLE    SECRETS  I 


415 


first  wife  was  a  very  independent  woman,  with  a  habit  of 
speaking  her  mind  quite  freely ;  and  the  second  had  a  fiery 
temper,  which  she  did  not  hesitate  to  display  when  she 
considered  occasion  demanded. 

In  a  few  weeks  he  found  that  he  must  separate  them ;  so 
he  divided  the  house,  giving  each  one  her  apartments  —  the 
first  wife  receiving  the  principal  share,  as  she  had  several 
children.  But  he  had  not  bettered  matters,  it  seemed. 
He  had  intended  dividing  his  time  equally  between  the  two ; 


No  PEACE  WITHIN  POLYGAMY. 

but  the  first  wife  was  so  opposed  to  this  arrangement  that  he 
offered  to  give  her  two  thirds  of  his  time,  which,  strange  as 
it  may  seem,  did  not  satisfy  her,  and  made  the  second  wife 
very  angry,  until,  between  them  both,  the  poor  man  was 
driven  almost  to  his  wits'  ends. 

They  had  a  peculiar  way  of  finding  out  each  other's 
secrets ;  and  when  the  husband  was  visiting  one,  the  other 
would  apply  her  ear  to  the  key-hole  of  her  rival's  apart- 
ments. On  certain  occasions,  when  the  first  wife  was  too 


41 6       NANCY  C.  TELLS  A  NAUGHTY  STORY. 

much  engaged  to  attend  to  the  key-hole  herself,  she  would 
place  her  little  daughter — a  child  not  more  than  six  years 
old  —  there,  and  bid  her  tell  her  what  she  heard.  Imagine 
the  effect  on  the  child.  It  seems  impossible  that  any  woman, 
however  jealous  or  curious,  would  take  this  means  to  satisfy 
her  curiosity.  Of  course  the  child  told  the  mother  the  most 
ridiculous  things,  which  she  affected  to  believe,  and  told  to 
her  husband  on  his  next  visit  to  her ;  in  consequence  of 
which  some  of  the  bitterest  quarrels  ensued. 

As  soon  as  possible  the  husband  built  a  second  house,  a 
few  rods  from  the  other,  and  removed  the  last  wife  thither, 
hoping  then  for  a  little  respite.  But  he  was  hoping  against 
hope ;  for  the  trouble  would  never  be  quieted  while  the 
cause  remained,  and  the  two  women  could  never  come 
within  speaking  distance  without  a  fearful  quarrel,  which 
often  ended  in  personal  violence,  blows  being  exchanged, 
hair  pulled,  and  dresses  torn  in  the  struggle. 

Every  experiment  was  in  vain.  After  running  away  from 
home  once  himself,  and  coming  back  on  account  of  his  chil- 
dren, whom  he  really  loved,  he  found  himself  obliged  to 
send  Number  Two  away,  when  quiet  was  again  restored, 
although  it  was  secured  at  the  expense  of  his  "  kingdom." 

The  fault  was  not  with  either  of  the  women  ;  each  one 
was  good  enough  by  herself;  but  it  was  in  the  accursed 
system,  which  brought,  as  it  always  does,  the  very  worst 
passions  to  the  surface,  and  made  of  each  woman  —  who, 
alone,  would  have  been  a  comfort  to  her  husband  —  a  fiend, 
and  a  constant  torment  to  him. 

Some  of  the  Mormon  brethren  are  so  anxious  to  increase 
their  kingdom  that  they  frequently  have  very  old  ladies 
sealed  to  them.  As  they  are  all  to  be  rejuvenated  in  the 
resurrection,  and  as  the  sealing  is  done  for  "  eternity  "  alone, 
it  will  be  all  right  in  the  future,  and  the  discrepancies  in  age 
will  go  for  nothing.  Even  Brigham  Young  himself  has  not 
hesitated  to  avail  himself  of  his  privileges  in  this  peculiar 
direction,  i(  Nancy  Chamberlain's  story  can  be  believed. 


HOW  A  WOMAN   "FREED   HER   MIND  1  "  417 

Nancy  Chamberlain  is  a  very  old,  half-crazed  woman, 
known,  I  fancy,  to  every  Mormon  in  the  Territory,  who 
solemnly  declares  that  she  was  sealed  to  Brigham  in 
Nauvoo,  and  that  she  had  the  promise  of  being  promoted 
to  the  place  of  first  wife.  She  lived  in  his  family  for  a  long 
time,  but  she  grew  old,  and  infirm,  and  useless,  and  he 
turned  her  out  of  the  house  some  years  ago ;  and  now  she 
lives  as  best  she  may,  going  about  from  house  to  house,  and 
doing  light  work  to  pay  for  her  support. 

She  considers  it  her  duty  every  little  while  to  go  and 
"free  her  mind,"  as  she  calls  it,  to  Brigham's  wives,  telling 
them  that  they  may  usurp  her  place  and  defraud  her  of  her 
rights  in  this  world,  but  she  shall  be  Brigham's  queen  in 
heaven.  She  is  an  eccentric  old  woman,  but  there  is  no 
doubt,  I  think,  about  her  having  been  sealed  to  the  Prophet. 
He  has  a  great  many  old  ladies  that  he  expects  to  resurrect, 
and  assign  them  to  their  true  position  in  the  eternal  World. 

These  old  ladies  are  sometimes  as  exacting  as  their 
younger  sisters,  and  the  husband  has  all  he  can  do  to  pacify 
them  and  keep  them  quiet ;  but  not  all  of  them  have  my 
mother's  experience  and  that  of  my  old  acquaintance,  Mr. 
Ramsay.  He  was  a  very  devout  follower  of  Brigham's, 
and,  when  he  was  about  forty  years  of  age,  he  was  sealed 
to  an  old  lady  eighty  years  of  age,  who  had  no  husband, 
and  consequently  no  hope  of  salvation,  until  he  very  kindly 
became  her  savior.  He  had  three  wives  already,  but  that 
was  a  trifle  not  worth  mentioning  to  a  man  expecting  to 
people  a  world  some  time  in  the  future  ;  so,  as  this  woman  — 
who  was  called  Catherine  —  would  count  one  on  the  list, 
she  was  taken,  and  brought  into  the  house  with  his  other 
wives. 

The  first  of  these  women,  who  had  always  been  a  slave 
to  her  husband  and  his  wives,  was  now  called  upon  to  take 
the  sole  charge  of  this  last  selection,  which  she  did  willingly 
enough.  But  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  please  Catherine. 
No  woman  could  do  more  to  keep  the  peace  than  Mrs. 
27 


418  A    BELLIGERENT   WIFE. 

Ramsay,  who  was  one  of  the  sweetest  tempered,  kindest 
hearted  women  in  the  world,  yet  in  this  case  it  seemed  to 
require  superhuman  exertions.  Catherine  complained  of 
her  food,  her  clothing,  and  her  situation  generally ;  but  the 
principal  cause  of  complaint  was,  that  Mr.  Ramsay  was  not 
sufficiently  attentive  to  her. 

"  I  am  your  wife,"  she  used  to  say,  in  a  querulous,  piping 
voice ;  "  I  have  rights  and  privileges  equal  to  any  other 
wife,  and  you  must  and  shall  spend  one  fourth  of  your  time 
with  me." 

This  not  being  Mr.  Ramsay's  view  of  the  case  precisely, 
he  would  reply,  — 

w  It  is  true  you  were  sealed  to  me,  but  it  was  not  for  time, 
but  for  eternity  ;  and  I  cannot  give  you  any  part  of  my  time 
here.  I  am  willing  that  you  should  be  taken  care  of  in  my 
family,  and  that  should  satisfy  you." 

But  that  did  not  satisfy  her,  and  she  determined  to  make 
him  all  the  trouble  she  could.  One  of  her  first  freaks  was 
to  personate  a  ghost;  and,  robing  herself  in  white,  she 
visited  different  apartments  of  the  house  while  the  family 
slept,  more  particularly  where  the  husband  was.  Failing 
to  bring  him  to  terms  by  this  mode  of  action,  she  tried  some- 
thing more  desperate,  and  actually  set  the  house  on  fire ;  it 
was  soon  discovered,  however,  and  not  much  harm  was  done. 
Mr.  Ramsay  had  been  very  patient  with  her,  and  viewed 
all  her  pranks  in  as  charitable  a  light  as  possible,  saying, 
*  it  was  somebody's  duty  to  exert  themselves  in  her  behalf, 
for  she  was  surely  worth  saving ;  and  as  for  her  queer  ac- 
tions, she  was  nothing  but  a  child  anyway ;  so  the  best  thing 
was  not  to  mind  them."  Yet  this  last  act  of  hers  made  him 
consider  her  a  very  dangerous  person,  and  he  advised  her 
to  seek  a  home  elsewhere,  which  she  was  very  soon  forced 
to  do,  as  he  went  to  the  southern  part  of  the  Territory  with 
his  other  wives,  and  left  her  behind. 

She  consoled  herself  by  thinking  that  although  she  had 
no  husband  on  earth,  she  was  provided  for  hereafter,  and 


AN   IMPECUNIOUS    POLYGAMIST.  419 

was  very  complacent  over  the  reflection,  which  seemed  to 
afford  her  wonderful  consolation.  Mr.  Ramsay  must  be 
acquitted  of  having  married  the  old  lady  for  money,  as  she 
was  very  poor,  and  he  gained  nothing  at  all  by  his  mar- 
riage. It  was  really  an  act  of  kindness  on  his  part,  and 
real  conscientious  regard  for  her  future. 

Not  so  unselfish  was  Brother  Shaw,  a  Mormon  whose 
poverty  might  be  estimated  by  the  fact  that  he  had  been 
twenty  years  in  Brigham's  service  as  a  laborer.  His  impe- 
cuniosity  was  no  bar  to  his  entering  the  Celestial  Kingdom, 
and  setting  up  a  realm  of  his  own,  over  which  he  should 
be  ruler.  He  had  already  married  two  wives,  when  a  very 
old  lady,  possessed  of  considerable  property,  arrived  in 
Zion,  and  Brother  Shaw  decided  that  she  needed  salvation 
at  his  hands,  and  proposed  marriage  to  her. 

She  saw  through  him  at  once,  but  fearing  for  her  salva- 
tion, she  accepted  the  proposal,  and  was  "sealed."  This 
was  her  first  offer  in  Zion,  but  she  feared,  at  her  time  of 
life,  she  might  never  have  another ;  so  she  allowed  herself 
to  be  installed  as  third  wife  in  the  Shaw  family.  Her 
money  was  found  very  useful  for  the  support  of  the  entire 
family,  and  was  spent  very  freely  until  it  was  all  gone, 
when  she,  like  the  rest,  was  obliged  to  live  in  great  destitu- 
tion. She  certainly  has  paid  handsomely  for  her  "  exalta- 
tion." 

In  a  family  where  all  were  so  peacefully  inclined  as  in 
our  own,  "trying"  occasions  are  rare;  but  they  would 
occur  sometimes,  and  I  think  my  mother  took  a  little  mali- 
cious pleasure  in  seeing  my  father  bothered  about  something 
that  had  occurred  to  make  "plurality"  a  trial.  He  tried  as 
hard  as  possible  to  be  just,  and  had  always  been  very  par- 
ticular in  dividing  everything  equally  between  his  wives. 
One  must  have  no  more  than  the  other.  There  must  be 
the  most  perfect  exactness  in  everything.  I  believe  he 
thinks  he  has  dealt  out  the  most  even-handed  justice, 
although  he  used  occasionally  to  be  accused  of  a  partiality 


42O  STORY    OF   A    CHRISTMAS    TURKEY. 

for  his  third  wife,  especially  by  those  comforting  persons 
who  liked  to  talk  to  the  other  wrives  about  him. 

One  year  he  had  a  turkey  presented  to  him  two  or  three 
days  before  Christmas.  He  was  away  from  home  on  re- 
ceiving it,  and  he  returned  quite  late  at  night  to  my  mother's 
house  with  his  gift.  He  was  in  a  dilemma.  Here  he  was 
with  a  turkey  on  his  hands,  and  not  feeling  rich  enough  to 
buy  the  requisite  number  in  addition  to  give  one  to  each  wife. 
He  could  not  decide  at  which  house  to  have  the  fowl  roasted. 
He  would  have  liked  to  have  had  the  table  of  each  wife 
graced  with  just  such  a  bird,  but  that  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, and  it  was  equally  impossible  for  all  to  dine  together 
that  day.  He  was  unable  to  solve  the  problem  ;  so  he  con- 
cluded to  leave  it  for  accident  to  decide. 

On  arriving  home  he  placed  the  turkey  quite  out  of 
sight,  as  he  supposed,  and  retired. 

My  mother,  in  her  rounds  of  morning  work,  discovered 
a  suspicious-looking  bundle,  and,  although  a  little  curious 
concerning  it,  did  not  open  it,  but  carried  it  to  my  father, 
with  the  wrapper  on,  at  the  same  time  asking  him  what 
it  was. 

"  It  is  a  turkey,"  was  his  reply. 

As  he  said  nothing  else,  she  hastily  returned  it  to  its 
place,  concluding  that  she  had  stumbled  on  positive  proof 
of  his  partiality  for  some  other  member  of  his  family ;  and 
remembering  all  he  had  said  about  equal  justice,  she  re- 
solved that  she  would  find  out  all  about  the  affair,  and,  if 
her  suspicions  were  correct,  would  not  submit  with  patience, 
but  would  "speak  her  mind,"  if  the  heavens  fell.  She 
opened  the  battle  by  saying,  — 

"  I  think  it  very  strange  indeed  that  you  should  purchase 
a  turkey  for  only  one  table,  and  leave  the  others  destitute ; 
and  I  also  think  it  a  very  unjust  proceeding  on  your  part ; 
if  one  portion  of  the  family  is  to  have  a  Christmas  turkey, 
the  others  should  receive  the  same  attention." 

"  Hold  on,  my  dear,"  interrupted  my  father ;  "  not  so  fast, 


A   HUSBAND    IN    A   FIX.  42! 

if  you  please.  You  shouldn't  jump  at  conclusions  in  such 
a  hasty  manner.  I  didn't  buy  the  turkey ;  it  was  given  me 
by  a  friend." 

"O,"  said  my  mother,  quite  mollified,  "is  that  so?" 
And  she  was  preparing  to  be  quite  amiable,  when,  unfor- 
tunately, she  happened  to  recollect  that  he  had  asked  her 
at  breakfast  if  she  had  not  better  have  some  chickens  killed 
for  Christmas,  and  she  returned  to  the  charge  with  renewed 
vigor. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  it?"  demanded  she. 

"Why,  you  may  have  it  if  you  wish,"  said  he;  "I  am 
sure  I  don't  know  what  else  to  do  with  it." 

Although  she  was  quite  prepared  to  wage  warfare  for 
her  rights  to  the  very  last,  my  mother  really  was  not  pre- 
pared for  such  willing  surrender,  and,  determined  not  to  be 
outdone  in  generosity,  she  replied,  — 

"O,  I  really  do  not  care  about  it.  I  have  chickens,  you 
know,  and  I  like  them  equally  well ;  in  fact,  I  think  I  pre- 
fer them.  But,"  she  continued,  with  a  beautiful  stroke  of 
diplomacy,  "  I  would  like  to  decide  which  of  the  other 
wives  shall  have  the  turkey,  if  you  will  allow  me,  since 
you  have  given  me  the  privilege  of  refusing  it." 

My  father  was  glad  enough  to  leave  the  disposition  of 
the  turkey  with  her,  as  he  did  not  really  know  any  better 
what  to  do  with  it  than  before,  and  if  she  decided  for  him, 
all  responsibility  would  be  off  his  shoulders.  So  he  said, 
with  very  great  cordiality  of  tone,  — 

"All  right.  I  have  given  it  to  you,  you  know.  You 
shall  make  what  disposition  you  please  of  it." 

"Thank  you,"  said  she,  with  equal  graciousness  of  man- 
ner ;  "  I  should  like  Elizabeth  to  have  it.  She  deserves  it, 
and  needs  it,  too,  and  would  be  very  grateful  for  it ;  and 
then,  too,  you  see,  she,  being  next  to  me,  would  claim  it  by 
right  of  seniority." 

"Wisely  said,"  was  my  father's  rejoinder,  delighted  to 
have  it  settled  so  amicably.  So  he  carried  the  turkey  to 


422 


CHICKENS,    BUT    NO    TURKEY, 


Elizabeth  as  his  Christmas  offering,  and  she  received  it,  as 
my  mother  thought  she  would,  gladly  and  thankfully. 

Our  Christmas  dinner,  with  the  chickens,  and  my  moth- 
er's delectable  puddings  and  pies,  was  a  success,  and  we 
didn't  even  miss  the  turkey,  though  we  did  have  a  good 
laugh  over  it,  and  my  mother  was  jubilant,  because  she 
had  kept  it  from  gracing  the  tables  of  the  younger  wives, 
since,  according  to  her  ideas  of  justice,  if  any  partiality 
was  to  be  shown,  it  should  be  given  in  the  order  of  "senior- 


OLD  FARM-HOUSE  AT  COTTONWOOD. 

ity."  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  other  tables  were  well  set, 
in  some  way  or  other,  but  we  none  of  us  saw  the  bills  of 
fare.  "  Father's  turkey  "  was  for  a  long  time  the  standing 
jest  at  home. 

During  this  time  at  South  Cottonwood,  while  I  was 
teaching  my  children,  helping  my  mother,  and  getting  all 
these  peeps  into  the  inside  experiences  of  polygamy,  my 
own  life  running  along  in  the  smoothest  channels  it  had 
ever  known,  a  great  change  was  preparing  for  me.  I  had 


EASE    AND    CONTENTMENT.  423 

no  thought  nor  premonition  of  it,  as  I  went  blithely  about  my 
daily  duties,  happy  and  content  in  the  quiet  life  which  I 
was  leading  in  my  mother's  companionship,  and  in  my  dar- 
ling children's  love.  I  dreamed  of  nothing  beyond  this 
peaceful  life ;  I  wished  for  nothing  else.  Such  a  sweet 
restfulness  had  taken  possession  of  me,  and  I  pictured  my- 
self growing  old  in  this  quiet  spot,  with  my  strong,  brave 
boys  near  me  to  make  my  rough  path  smooth,  and  to  help 
my  faltering  footsteps  over  the  stony  places  with  their  strong 
arms  that  would  encircle  and  hold  me  then,  as  I  encircled 
them  now.  The  improvement  of  my  health  was  a  source 
of  great  joy  to  me.  I  never  was  so  well  in  my  life.  The 
color  had  come  back  to  my  cheek,  the  sparkle  to  my  eye, 
the  smile  to  my  lips,  the  elasticity  to  my  step,  and  something 
of  the  old  life  to  my  spirits,  although  I  had  suffered  too 
much  to  have  them  quite  as  light  as  they  were  in  the  old 
frolicsome  days  when  I  had  gone  merry-making  with  my 
old  companions,  had  won  friends  in  the  theatre,  and  had 
wailed  "  with  the  girls  "  over  the  monotonous  fare  of  the 
Prophetic  table.  I  was  a  child  with  my  children,  and  it 
would  be  difficult  to  tell  which  of  us  got  the  most  scoldings 
and  pettings  from  the  fond  grandmamma. 

She  was  happy,  too,  at  having  me  with  her  again  ;  and 
though  she  sorrowed  at  my  sorrow,  she  could  not  regret 
anything  that  brought  me  back  to  her,  so  long  as  it  did  not 
make  me  utterly  unhappy ;  and  she  recognized  as  well  as  I 
the  fact,  that  my  life  was  fuller  and  freer  without  my  hus- 
band than  with  him,  and  that  my  children  were  better  oft', 
and  stood  far  better  chances  of  becoming  the  men  that  both 
she  and  I  wished  them  to  become,  under  my  guidance  alone, 
than  under  the  influence  of  such  a  father  as  theirs.  They 
would  never  have  felt  a  strong,  steady,  guiding  hand,  but 
would  have  been,  as  their  mother  had  been  before  them,  the 
victim  of  alternate  passion  and  rough  good  nature,  that  was 
easily  shaken. 

I  had  very  many  offers  of  marriage.     A  moderately  pre- 


424  MY    PERSISTENT    SUITORS. 

possessing  woman  in  Utah  is  sure  not  to  be  long  without 
them  ;  and  I  knew  that  I  was  that,  at  least,  but  I  could  not  be 
brought  to  look  with  favor  upon  any  of  my  suitors.  I  did 
not  care  to  try  matrimony  again.  I  had  vowed  that  I  would 
not  become  a  plural  wife,  and,  with  my  past  experience,  I 
was  afraid  to  try  even  a  monogamic  alliance  again ;  for  I 
knew  that  in  Utah  the  step  from  monogamy  to  polygamy  is 
very  short,  and  very  easily  taken.  My  answer  was  the 
same  to  one  and  all  —  "I  have  my  children ;  I  shall  live  for 
them  alone ;  they  are  my  only  loves." 

Some  of  them  appealed  to  my  father  and  mother  to  use 
their  influence  to  make  me  change  my  mind ;  but  they  re- 
fused to  interfere,  saying  that  I  probably  knew  my  own 
mind,  and,  if  I  did  not  wish  to  marry,  that  was  quite 
enough. 

I  usually  had  my  own  way ;  and  when  I  knew  that  any 
of  my  persistent  suitors  had  turned  to  my  parents  for  sym- 
pathy and  assistance,  I  laughed  to  myself  to  think  how  little 
of  either  they  would  receive.  To  tell  the  truth,  they — es- 
pecially my  mother  —  were  no  more  anxious  for  me  to  marry 
than  I  myself;  and  I  knew  that  so  long  as  they  had  a  home, 
my  children  and  I  should  share  it.  I  was  not  allowed  to 
feel  that  we  were  in  any  way  a  burden,  and,  to  tell  the 
truth,  I  did  honestly  try  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  assist  my 
mother,  and  make  life  easier  for  her  to  bear. 

"  I  shall  never,  never  leave  you,"  I  used  to  say,  as  I 
would  nestle  at  her  feet,  and  lay  my  head  in  her  lap  in  the 
old  childish  fashion  —  a  habit  that  I  could  not  bring  my- 
self to  abandon,  even  though  I  was  a  mother  myself,  with 
two  bouncing  boys  to  curl  down  in  my  own  lap  in  the  same 
loving  way,  begging  for  caresses. 

"  God  willing,  we  will  never  be  parted,  my  darling." 

"Never!  never!"  cried  I,  with  loving  enthusiasm,  as  I 
felt  her  hand  on  my  head,  resting  in  tender  benediction  there. 
I  kissed  the  hand  that  had  grown  hard  with  toil  for  me  and 
for  others ;  and  together  we  sat  with  no  premonition  of  the 


BRIGHAM    ON    HIS    WAY   TO    COTTONWOOD.  425 

future  that  was  so  near,  and  that  was  to  change  the  whole 
current  of  both  our  after  lives. 

Brigham  Young  and  some  of  the  apostles  were  coming  to 
South  Cottonwood  to  hold  a  meeting.  But  what  was  that 
to  me  ?  How  did  it  affect  me  when  he  came  or  went?  I 
had  no  part  nor  lot  in  his  movements.  Life  was  nothing  to 
me  beyond  my  mother  and  children ;  and  all  the  Prophetic 
coming  and  going  would  not  cause  a  ripple  on  the  surface 
of  my  placid  life. 

So  I  thought,  as  I  lay  cradled  in  my  mother's  arms  that 
summer  evening  in  the  old  farm-house  at  Cottonwood ;  and 
the  stars,  as  they  looked  down  upon  me  there,  revealed 
nothing  more  to  me. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

A  WALK  WITH  THE  PROPHET.  —  HE  MAKES  LOVE  TO 

ME. 

How  Brigham  Travels  Through  the  Territory.  —  Triumphant  Receptions 
Everywhere.  —  Trying  to  Establish  the  "Order  of  Enoch."  —  How  the 
Prophet  Insulted  his  Faithful  Followers.  —  "  Rheumatism  "  in  the  Tem- 
per.—  Grand  Doings  in  the  Settlements.  —  We  Goto  Meet  the  Prophet. 

—  How  the  Saints  were  Lectured  in  the  Bowery.  —  How  Brigham  gave 
Howard  a  Piece  of  Land.  —  Howard  Insulted  by  the  Prophet.  —  Over- 
looking the  Prophet's  Lies . —  Van  Etten  Becomes  Brigham's  "  Friend." 

—  He  Helps  Him  to  Steal  a  Hundred  Sheep.  —  He  makes  a  Big  Haul, 
and  Escapes  to  Canada.  —  The  Prophet  Ogles  Me  during  Service-Time. 
— We  Take  a  Walk  Home   Together.  — He   Compliments  My  Good 
Looks.  —  Makes  Love  to  Me.  —  Matrimonial  Advice.  —  Brigham  Wishes 
Me  to  Become  His  Wife. 


N  Brigham  Young's  ar- 
rival at  South  Cotton- 
wood,  he  was  very 
warmly  welcomed,  all 
the  people  turning  out 
to  join  in  the  demon- 
strations. 

This  is  the  usual  cus- 
tom ;  consequently  his 
travels  through  the 
Territory  are  a  perfect 
ovation.  He  is  gen- 
erally accompanied  by 
some  members  of  his 
family  ;  perhaps  one  or 
more  of  his  wives,  and 
one  of  his  sons.  It 
has  lately  always  been 
Brigham,  Jr.,  his  intended  successor,  who  is  taken  along,  to 


BRIGHAM  ON  HIS  TRAVELS. 


THE    RECEPTION    OF    BRIGHAM.  427 

be  initiated  into  the  proper  method  of  doing  things ;  one  or 
more  of  his  counsellors;  some  of  the  apostles,  and  whoever 
else  he  may  choose  to  invite  to  join  his  party.  They  go  in 
carriages,  and  form  in  themselves  quite  a  procession. 

He  is  met  outside  of  every  settlement  which  he  visits  by  a 
company  of  cavalry  ;  and  a  little  farther  on,  just  outside  the 
entrance  to  the  town,  he  is  met  by  another  procession,  — 
sometimes  of  the  children  alone,  but  oftener,  in  the  large 
settlements,  where  they  are  ambitious  to  "do  the  thing  up  in 
shape,"  of  the  entire  population  who  are  able  to  turn  out, 
men,  women,  and  children,  headed  by  a  brass  band,  all 
ranged  along  to  give  greeting  to  the  Prophet.  They  are 
arranged  in  different  sections,  each  section  having  its  appro- 
priate banner.  The  elderly  and  middle-aged  men  are  all 
together  under  the  banner  "  Fathers  in  Israel."  The  women 
of  the  same  ages  are  ranged  under  their  banner,  "  Mothers 
in  Israel."  The  young  men  are  proud  enough  of  the  in- 
scription which  theirs  carries,  "  Defenders  of  Zion ; "  and 
the  young  girls  are  fresh  and  lovely  under  their  banner, 
"The  Daughters  of  Zion, — Virtue;"  while  the  little  wee 
bits,  that  are  placed  last  of  all,  are  "  The  Hope  of  Israel." 
Other  banners  bear  the  inscriptions,  w  Hail  to  the  Prophet;  " 
"  Welcome  to  our  President ;  "  "  God  bless  Brigham  Young ;  " 
K  The  Lion  of  the  Lord ;  "  and  others  of  a  similar  nature  are 
seen  along  the  line  of  the  procession. 

As  the  President  and  his  escort  pass  down  the  long  line, 
the  band  plays,  the  people  cheer,  men  wave  their  hats, 
women  their  handkerchiefs,  and  the  young  girls  and  chil- 
dren toss  bunches  of  flowers ;  and  their  Prophet  —  if  he 
chances  to  be  in  a  good  humor  —  bows  and  smiles  to  them  as 
he  passes ;  and  everything  is  gay,  and  bright,  and  merry, 
and  the  people  are  very  happy  because  of  the  success  of 
their  Prophet's  reception. 

Now  and  then  their  gaiety  has  a  dash  of  cold  water  from 
the  object  of  all  the  display,  and  they  see  all  their  prepara- 
tions go  for  nothing,  and  are  made  to  feel  that  all  their  labor 


428          THE  PROPHET  OUT  OF  TEMPER. 

has  been  in  vain,  as  happened  not  long  ago  in  Salt  Lake 
City.  Brigham  had  been  on  a  long  trip  through  Southern 
Utah,  endeavoring  to  establish  the  "United  Order  of 
Enoch,"  with  but  indifferent  success,  it  must  be  confessed, 
in  consequence  of  which  he  was  in  anything  but  good  hu- 
mor with  his  "rebellious  people." 

On  his  return  he  was  met  at  the  station  by  thousands  of 
his  people,  who  had  gathered  in  unusual  numbers,  and 
with  unusual  display,  to  meet  him.  As  he  stepped  from 
the  car,  cheers  arose  from  the  mass  of  people,  the  band 
played,  and  all  eyes  were  turned  on  him,  anxiously  watch- 
ing for  a  recognition.  What  was  their  surprise  and  chagrin 
to  see  him  step  from  the  car  to.  his  carriage,  enter  it,  close 
the  door,  and  drive  away  without  the  slightest  notice  of 
their  presence,  seemingly  oblivious  to  everything  about  him  ! 

The  Saints  returned  to  their  homes  feeling  exceedingly 
hurt  and  grieved,  but  the  next  Sabbath  their  Prophet  en- 
deavored to  soothe  their  outraged  feelings  and  smooth  mat- 
ters over  with  them,  in  the  following  "explanation  :  " 

"  Brethren  and  sisters,  you  may  have  felt  hurt  at  my  not 
recognizing  your  greeting  on  my  arrival.  If  so,  I  am 
sorry ;  but  I  had  just  had  an  attack  of  rheumatiz  in  my 
left  foot." 

The  apology  was  accepted ;  there  was  nothing  else  to  be 
done.  The  Prophet  had  made  what  he  considered  the 
proper  amende^  though  some  of  the  brethren  were  so  irrev- 
erent as  to  remark  afterwards  that  they  "  guessed  the  'rheu- 
matiz '  was  in  his  temper,"  on  account  of  his  failure  to  gull 
the  people  with  his  last  "  effort  for  their  spiritual "  -  and  his 
temporal  —  "  advancement." 

Usually  he  is  in  high  good  humor,  and  beams  on  his  fol- 
lowers with  the  most  patronizing  and  reassuring  of  smiles, 
accepting  all  the  homage  as  though  it  were  his  by  "  divine 
right."  Royalty  itself  could  assume  no  more  the  manner 
of  receiving  only  what  it  is  entitled  to,  than  this  ex-glazier, 
who  used  to  work  for  "  six  bits  "  a  day,  and  who  begged 


OFF   FOR   A   GOOD    TIME.  429 

the  farmer  for  whom  he  had  done  two  half  days'  work  to 
give  him  a  new  coat,  since  his  old  one  was  too  "  rusty  "  to 
go  on  a  preaching  tour  in,  and  the  "  spirit "  had  suddenly 
called  him  from  the  haying  field  to  a  Methodist  meeting  in 
the  neighboring  town. 

While  on  his  journeys,  he  is  always  taken  to  the  best  house 
in  the  place,  and  everything  is  done  for  his  comfort ;  his  fol- 
lowers are  taken  by  other  residents  of  the  town,  a  dance  is 
given  in  the  evening,  which  takes  the  place  of  the  usual 
"  reception  "  elsewhere ;  he  is  serenaded  by  the  bands  and 
parties  of  singers,  and  all  night  the  militia  keep  sentry 
about  his  headquarters.  Altogether  it  is  quite  a  gay  thing 
to  go  visiting  the  settlements,  and  no  one  likes  it  better  than 
the  Prophet  himself.  It  is  the  grand  event  of  the  year  to 
the  Saints,  and  they  make  such  extensive  preparations  for 
the  occasion,  that  many  of  them  have  to  "live  very  close," 
as  they  express  it,  for  months  afterwards. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  I  helped  "welcome  the  President" 
to  Cottonwood ;  so  did  all  the  family ;  and,  as  we  were  all 
old  friends,  we  were  glad  to  see  him  personally,  as  well  as 
spiritually,  my  mother  especially  being  overjoyed,  for  there 
was  always  the  warmest  friendship  between  them;  indeed, 
their  friendship  dated  back  to  the  days  before  they  went  to 
Kirtland.  At  Nauvoo  they  had  been  next  door  neighbors, 
and  he  used  to  be  very  fond  of  playing  with  the  "  baby." 
Since  then  he  had  helped  the  "  baby  "  to  escape  from  a  do- 
mestic thraldom  which  was  harder  than  she  could  endure, 
and  she  was  grateful  to  him  accordingly.  I  think  neither 
mother  nor  daughter  would  have  joined  so  heartily  in  the 
welcome,  had  they  known  what  misery  the  visit  was  to 
bring. 

The  Sunday  services  are  always  largely  attended,  and 
as  no  house  is  sufficiently  capacious  to  hold  all  who  assem- 
ble to  listen  to  the  Prophet,  the  meetings  are  held  in  the 
"Bowery,"  which  is  a  sort  of  improvised  tabernacle,  with 
open  sides,  and  roofed  over  with  branches  of  trees.  He 


430  OVERHAULING   THE    SAINTS. 

usually  makes  this  the  occasion  for  reprimanding  the  people 
for  their  sins,  dwelling  particularly  on  the  extravagance  of 
women  in  dress,  and  the  habit,  among  some  of  the  men,  of 
whiskey-drinking.  He  came  out  very  strong  this  time,  and 
the  poor  Cottomvood  Saints  were  exposed  to  a  merciless 
fusillade  from  the  Prophet's  tongue.  He  was  more  than  usu- 
ally denunciatory  and  scathing,  and  he  made  this  the  occa- 
sion for  abusing  Mr.  Howard,  the  owner  of  the  distillery. 
After  he  had  got  well  warmed  up,  he  said  Howard  had  not 
a  cent  in  the  world  which  he  had  not  given  him,  and  added, 


BKIGHAM  PREACHING  AT  SOUTH  COTTONWOOD. 

*  I  even  gave  the  poor,  mean  scapegrace  the  very  land  he 
lives  on." 

This  was  more  than  Howard  could  bear,  even  from  his 
Prophet,  and  he  jumped  to  his  feet,  excitedly  shouting,  — 

f'It  isn't  so,  and  you  know  it  isn't.  I  bought  the  land  of 
you,  and  gave  you  twelve  hundred  dollars  for  it." 

"  You  lie  !  "  roared  Brig-ham  ;  "  I  gave  it  to  you." 

"Yes,  for  twelve  hundred  dollars,"  was  Howard's  reply. 

"I  never  got  a  cent  for  it,"  screamed  Brigham. 

"You're  the  liar,  and  you  know  it,"  retorted  Howard. 

I  don't  know  how  long  this  Sabbath-day  quarrel  would 


THE  PROPHET'S  BAD  MEMORY.  431 

have  lasted,  had  not  Brigham  happened  to  think  it  was  a 
little  out  of  order,  and  also  to  discover  that  Howard,  who 
was  in  a  great  rage  by  this  time,  was  bound  to  have  the 
last  word.  He  stopped  the  dispute,  and,  turning  to  the 
congregation,  said,  — 

r  Is  there  no  one  who  will  remove  that  man  from  this 
place?" 

Instantly  ten  or  fifteen  men  started  to  their  feet,  and 
rushed  towards  the  offender ;  but  a  man  named  Van  Etten, 
being  much  nearer  to  him  than  any  of  the  others,  reached 
him  first,  and  led  him  out  of  meeting ;  so  there  was  no 
opportunity  for  any  of  the  others  to  exercise  their  zeal  in 
the  Prophet's  behalf.  At  the  close  of  the  services,  Brig- 
ham  publicly  thanked  Brother  Van  Etten,  and  called  him 
"the  only  friend  in  the  congregation." 

The  following  Sabbath,  the  party  were  at  Willow  Creek 
holding  meeting,  and  as  what  he  was  pleased  to  term 
"  Howard's  insult "  was  rankling  in  his  memory,  he  could 
not  refrain  from  referring  to  it  in  his  sermon,  which  he  did 
in  the  following  truthful  manner  :  — 

"  I  was  never  so  insulted  in  my  life  as  I  was  at  Cotton- 
wood  last  Sabbath.  I  called  seven  or  eight  times  for  some 
of  the  brethren  to  lead  Howard  out,  and  not  a  man  re- 
sponded but  Brother  Van  Etten.  I  know  how  it  is ;  you 
and  they  are  all  bought  with  Howard's  whiskey." 

Now,  the  news  of  the  encounter  had  reached  Willow 
Creek  before  the  Prophet  and  his  party,  and  nearly  every 
one  present  knew  that  Brigham  had  only  called  once  for 
his  opponent  to  be  taken  away,  and  that  his  call  had  been 
promptly  responded  to.  But  they  attributed  his  misstatement 
to  the  Prophet's  bad  memory.  They  knew,  too,  that  none 
of  them  were  bought  with  Howard's  whiskey ;  but  perhaps 
Brigham  thought  they  were,  and  it  was  only  "one  of  his 
slight  mistakes ;  "  so  they  let  it  go  for  what  it  was  worth, 
and  the  Prophet  felt  better  after  venting  his  ill-temper. 

It  was  soon  after  this  that  Howard  was  sent  on  the  mis- 


432  BRIGHAM'S  THIEVING  FRIEND. 

sion  that  has  been  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter.  Van 
Etten's  fortune  was  made  from  that  moment.  The  Proph- 
et's heart  was  full  of  blessings  for  him,  and  found  vent  in 
the  following  benediction  :  — 

"The  Lord  will  bless  you,  Brother  Van  Etten,  for  so  no- 
bly coming  forward  in  my  defence.  You  are  the  only  man 
out  of  several  thousand  that  paid  any  attention  to  the  insults 
I  received.  I  want  you  to  understand  that  from  this  time  I 
am  your  friend." 

The  Cottonwood  Saints  were  very  much  surprised  at 
Brigham's  warmth,  for  Van  Etten  was  well  known  as  a 
worthless,  dissipated  character,  and  if  Brother  Brigham 
found  any  good  in  him,  it  was  more  than  anyone  else  had 
succeeded  in  doing. 

The  Prophet  and  Van  Etten  were  ever  after  bosom 
friends ;  let  the  latter  do  what  he  would,  Brigham  would 
shield  him  from  all  difficulty.  One  instance  of  this  protec- 
tion of  }\\s  protege  came  directly  under  my  notice.  Van 
Etten  stole  a  hundred  sheep  from  my  brother,  who  prose- 
cuted him  for  it.  When  the  trial  came  on,  the  evidence 
was  as  clear  as  possible  against  him ;  yet  Brigham  con- 
trolled the  whole  affair,  and  his  "friend"  was  released. 
All  who  knew  the  facts  concerning  the  case  were  aston- 
ished that  even  Brigham  should  do  such  a  very  unjust 
thing  as  to  clear  him ;  but  at  that  time  the  Saints  did  not 
dare  to  criticise  the  Prophet's  actions  as  they  do  now,  and 
all  they  said  was,  "There  probably  is  something  good 
about  Van  Etten  that  Brigham  has  discovered  which  we 
were  unable  to  see." 

Finally,  the  Prophet's  intimate  friend  took  several  thou- 
sand head  of  sheep  to  herd  for  different  parties,  and  a 
short  time  after,  the  owners  heard  that  he  had  left  the  coun- 
try ;  they  went  instantly  to  look  after  their  sheep,  but  not  a 
trace  of  them  could  they  find.  Van  Etten,  sheep  and  all, 
were  gone,  and  they  never  returned  again  to  the  "Valley 
of  Ephraim."  It  was  afterwards  found  that  he  was  in 


UNDER    FIRE    OF    BRIGHAM  S    EYES.  433 

Canada ;  he  also  was  in  debt  nine  thousand  dollars  at  the 
co-operative  store — Brigham's  pet  institution .  I  never  heard 
Brigham  say  whether  he  missed  his  friend  or  not ;  in  fact, 
he  never  mentioned  him  after  this  last  escapade. 

I  had  noticed,  during  the  morning  service,  that  memora- 
ble Sunday  at  Cottonwood,  that  Brigham  looked  often  at  me  ; 
but  I  thought  nothing  more  of  it  than  that  mine  was  a  very 
familiar  face,  and  consequently  he  was  drawn  towards  it 
for  that  reason.  Still  there  were  others  in  the  congrega- 
tion that  he  knew ;  so  mine  was  not  the  only  face  he  looked 
at  for  recognition.  I  began  to  be  a  little  uneasy  under  his 
scrutiny.  I  thought  that  possibly  there  was  something 
about  my  appearance  that  displeased  him.  Possibly  he  did 
not  approve  of  my  dress.  I  knew  he  considered  himself  per- 
fectly at  liberty  to  criticise  any  sister's  dress  when  he  felt 
so  inclined,  and  I  did  not  know  but  I  was  to  be  the  subject 
of  his  next  outbreak.  That  he  was  not  looking  at  me  indif- 
ferently or  carelessly  I  knew  very  well,  from  the  bent  brows 
and  keen  gaze  that  I  felt  was  making  the  most  complete 
scrutiny,  and  I  wished  he  would  look  somewhere  else.  I 
fidgeted  about  in  my  seat,  I  looked  at  my  little  boy  who 
was  sitting  beside  me,  and  pretended  to  arrange  some  arti- 
cle of  his  clothing.  I  did  everything  but  to  jump  up  and 
run  away,  and  I  even  wanted  to  do  that,  to  get  out  of  the 
reach  of  those  sharp  eyes,  and  that  steady,  unflinching  gaze. 
I  am  sure  he  saw  my  discomfort ;  but  he  was  pitiless,  and 
all  the  while  the  speaking  was  going  on  he  scarcely  turned 
his  eyes  from  me  a  moment.  I  tried  to  be  unconscious,  to 
look  in  every  direction  except  his,  but  the  steady  eyes 
would  always  bring  mine  back  again  in  spite  of  myself.  I 
felt  his  power  then  as  I  never  had  felt  it  before,  and  I 
began  to  understand  a  little  how  it  was  that  he  compelled 
so  many  people  to  do  his  will,  against  their  own  inclina- 
tions. I  learned  the  lesson  better  still  subsequently. 

After  the  services  he  came  up  to  me  and  greeted  me  very 
cordially.  I  was  surprised,  for  he  had  been  so  ruffled  over 
28 


434  "MAY  i  WALK  HOME  WITH  YOU?'* 

the  Howard  matter  that  I  did  not  expect  he  would  regain 
his  spirits  so  easily. 

"Are  you  well?"  said  he. 

"As  you  see,"  I  replied,  laughing,  and  looking  up  at 
him. 

"  May  I  walk  home  with  you  ?  " 

"If  you  wish ;  I  should  be  much  pleased,"  said  I.  I  was 
pleased,  too,  for  I  knew  that  in  bringing  him  home  with  me 
I  should  be  conferring  the  greatest  happiness  on  my  mother. 
He  took  my  little  boy's  hand,  and  led  him  along,  and  as 
he  looked  down  at  him,  he  said,  — 

"  A  pretty  child.     What  are  you  going  to  do  with  him? " 

"Make  a  good  man  of  him,  if  possible,"  was  my  reply. 

"A  better  one  than  his  father  proved  to  be,  I  trust." 

"  God  grant  it,  else  he  will  not  be  much  of  a  comfort  to 
me,"  said  I,  the  tears  starting  to  my  eyes. 

"You  are  very  much  improved  since  you  left  Mr.  Dee," 
said  he  ;  "  do  you  know  it?  You  are  a  very  pretty  woman." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  I,  laughing,  yet  embarrassed  at  this 
wholesale  fashion  of  complimenting  ;  "  if  you  can  only  tell 
me  I  am  a  good  woman,  I  should  like  that,  too." 

"Yes,  you  are  that,  I  believe,  and  a  good  mother;  and 
you  were  a  good  wife,  only  that  foolish  fellow  didn't  have 
the  sense  to  half  appreciate  you." 

"Thank  you  again.  I  don't  know  that  I  can  take  all 
you  tell  me,  since  I  am  not  sure  that  I  deserve  such  high 
praise." 

"  You  are  your  mother's  girl ;  there  can  be  but  one  con- 
clusion to  draw  from  that.  But  tell  me  about  yourself;  are 
you  happy  ?  " 

"Very,"  said  I,  earnestly.  "I  never  was  happier  in  my 
life." 

"  What  makes  you  specially  happy  just  now  ?  " 

"  O,  my  children,  my  mother,  my  quiet  life,  after  all  the 
trial  and  weary  struggling  to  make  the  best  out  of  the  very 
worst" 


A   MATRIMONIAL    CONTROVERSY.  435 

tf  Then  you  don't  regret  your  divorce?  " 

"  Indeed  I  do  not ;  and  now,  Brother  Young,  let  me  thank 
you  for  your  kindness  in  helping  me  to  regain  my  freedom, 
and  above  all  to  keep  my  children.  You  must  be  content 
with  gratitude,  for  I  can  repay  you  in  no  other  way." 

He  looked  at  me  a  moment ;  a  peculiar  smile  flitted  across 
his  face ;  he  opened  his  lips  as  if  to  say  something ;  closed 
them  again  ;  looked  at  me  more  scrutinizingly  than  ever ; 
turned  away,  and  was  silent  for  a  moment.  Then  he  asked 
me,  quite  abruptly, — 

"  I  suppose  you  have  had  offers  of  marriage  since  your 
separation  from  Mr.  Dee." 

"Yes,  many,"  I  replied,  answering  his  question  very 
frankly,  as  I  did  not  suspect  that  he  had  any  motive  in 
questioning  me,  except  a  friendly  interest ;  and  I  was  as 
honest  in  my  confidences  to  him  as  I  should  have  been 
with  my  father. 

"  Do  you  feel  inclined  to  accept  any  of  them  ?  "  was  his 
next  question. 

"No,  not  in  the  slightest  degree ;  none  of  them  move  me 
in  the  least." 

"  And  you  haven't  a  preference  for  any  of  the  suitors  ?  " 

"  I  assure  you,  no." 

"Never  had  the  slightest  inclination  to  say  fyes  '  to  any 
offer  that  has  been  made  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit  of  inclination  ;  all  my  lovers  have  had  a  rival 
affection  to  contend  with." 

"For  whom?"  was  the  question,  quick  and  sudden,  as  if 
intending  to  take  me  by  surprise  by  its  abruptness. 

I  laid  my  hand  on  my  boy's  head.  "  For  him,  and  for 
the  other  dear  child  that  God  gave  me  ;  I  can  have  no  room 
for  other  love  while  I  have  them  to  care  for.  They  fill  my 
heart  exclusively,  and  I  am  so  glad  and  happy  because  of 
it,  that  I  should  be  jealous  if  I  saw  the  least  hint  of  regard 
for  anyone  creeping  in.  I  couldn't  love  anybody  else ;  I 
wouldn't." 


436  BRIGHAM    GIVES    ME    SOME    ADVICE. 

"  Then  you  think  you  will  never  be  induced  to  marry  ?" 

"Never  in  my  life,"  I  said,  vehemently. 

Brigham  laughed  a  little,  and  replied,  "  I  have  heard  a 
very  great  many  girls  talk  that  way  before." 

"Yes,  but  I  am  not  a  girl ;  I  am  a  woman  ;  a  woman,  too, 
with  hard,  bitter  experiences  ;  a  woman  who  has  lost  faith 
in  mankind,  and  hasn't  much  faith  in  matrimony  ;  a  mother, 
too,  who  will  not  give  her  children  a  rival." 

"No,  but  you  might  give  them  a  protector." 

"  They  don't  need  it ;  my  love  is  sufficient  protection. 
Besides,  they  are  boys,  and  will  be  my  protectors  in  a  few 
years.  So,  you  see,  I  do  not  need  to  marry  for  protection 
for  myself  or  them." 

"  But  supposing  it  were  shown  to  be  a  duty." 

"It  can't  be.  I  should  not  recognize  a  duty  of  that  kind. 
I  consider  myself  old  enough,  and  sufficiently  experienced, 
to  judge  of  my  duties  without  any  assistance." 

He  bent  his  eyes  on  me  again  with  a  keen,  questioning 
look,  and  said,  very  kindly,  "  Child,  child,  I  fear  you  are 
very  headstrong.  Don't  let  your  will  run  away  with  you." 

"  No  danger,"  I  replied ;  "  it  is  not  crossed  often  enough 
to  make  it  very  assertive." 

"A  spoiled  child,  eh?" 

"Possibly.  My  will  seems  to  be  everybody's  way  at 
home." 

"  Well,  my  child,  I  want  to  give  you  a  little  advice.  I 
have  known  you  all  your  life,  and  have  had  'an  interest  in 
you  from  your  birth.  Indeed,  you  seem  like  one  of  my 
own  family,  you  were  always  in  and  out  so  much  with  my 
children ;  and  I  am  going  to  speak  to  you  as  I  would  to 
one  of  my  girls.  You  will  probably  marry  again,  some 
time,  though  you  say  now  you  won't." 

"  No,"  I  interrupted  ;  "  I  shall  not  marry.  I  mean  what  I 
say  when  I  tell  you  so." 

"Yes,  I  know  it ;  but  you  will ;  now  mark  my  words,  and 
see  if  you  don't." 


A    QUEER    WAY    OF    LOVE-MAKING.  437 

"Well,  don't  feel  so  sure  that  you  send  somebody  after 
me,"  said  I,  slyly  hitting  him  for  his  known  propensity  for 
"  counselling  "  the  brethren  to  take  certain  sisters  as  plural 
wives. 

"You  needn't  be  afraid  of  my  sending  anybody.  I 
promise  you  I  won't  do  that,"  was  his  answer. 

"  Good ;  then  I  shall  not  be  obliged  to  say  'no  '  to  them, 
and  so,  perhaps,  hurt  your  feelings  as  well  as  mortify 
them,"  said  I. 

"  Still,  I  believe  that  you  will  marry  again  some  time.  It 
is  in  the  nature  of  things  that  you  should.  Women  of  your 
age,  and  your  looks,  don't  stay  single  all  their  lives  ;  not  a 
bit  of  it.  Now,  my  advice  is  this :  when  you  do  marry, 
select  some  man  older  than  yourself.  It  doesn't  make  so 
much  difference  whether  you're  in  love  with  him,  if  you 
can  respect  him  and  look  up  to  him  for  counsel.  Respect 
is  better  than  romance,  any  day.  You've  tried  the  one, 
now  give  the  other  a  chance.  You  didn't  succeed  so  well 
with  the  other  experiment  that  you  care  to  try  that  over 
again,  I  know.  You  had  your  own  way,  too,  if  I  remem- 
ber rightly.  It  wasn't  such  a  smooth  one  as  you  thought  it 
was  going  to  be.  I  knew  you  was  doing  the  wrong  thing 
when  I  saw  the  man.  I  could  have  told  you  so,  but  you 
didn't  ask  my  advice.  Now  I'm  giving  it  to  you  without 
asking,  for  I  don't  want  you  to  make  another  mistake.  So, 
when  you  choose  again,  remember  what  I  say,  and  get  a 
husband  whom  you  can  look  to  for  good  advice." 

We  had  reached  home  by  that  time,  and  I  thanked  him 
for  his  interest,  and  promised  to  heed  his  advice  if  I  found 
it  necessary ;  but  I  was  sure  I  should  not,  for  I  was  firm  in 
my  determination  not  to  marry. 

I  had  no  idea  at  all  of  Brigham's  real  object  in  thus 
sounding  me,  and  drawing  me  out.  It  never  occurred  to  me 
that  he  could  want  me  for  himself.  I  should  just  as  soon 
have  thought  of  receiving  an  offer  of  marriage  from  my 
own  father,  or  to  have  heard  that  he  (Brigham)  was  going 


438  THE    PROPHET    ON    HIS    GOOD    BEHAVIOR. 

to  marry  one  of  his  own  daughters.  Then  I  knew,  too, 
that  there  had  been  a  great  deal  said  in  the  outside  world 
respecting  the  practice  of  polygamy  among  the  Saints,  and 
I  thought,  from  conversations  I  had  heard,  that  the  United 
States  Congress  had  taken  some  action  in  the  matter,  and 
that  he,  being  the  Head  of  the  Church,  was  watched  pretty 
closely  by  government  officials.  Then  he  was  so  old,  — 
much  older  than  my  father,  —  that  the  thought,  had  it  pre- 
sented itself,  would  have  been  scouted  as  absurd.  I  re- 
peated the  conversation  to  my  mother,  who  seemed  amused 
by  it,  but  did  not  give  any  more  serious  thought  to  it  than  I 
had  done. 

Brigham  was  uncommonly  jovial  that  day,  and  made 
himself  particularly  agreeable.  He  was  unusually  gracious 
to  my  father,  revived  old  memories,  and  joked  with  my 
mother;  petted  and  praised  the  children,  and  was  very  pa- 
ternal in  his  manner  to  me.  He  showed  himself,  altogether, 
in  his  very  best  light,  and  made  his  visit  very  pleasant. 

During  the  afternoon  service  he  studied  me  in  the  same 
way  that  he  had  in  the  morning ;  and  several  times,  when  I 
caught  his  eye,  he  looked  quite  amused.  I  supposed  he 
was  thinking  of  our  conversation  at  noon,  and  was  much 
more  at  my  ease  than  I  had  been  in  the  early  part  of  the 
day  during  the  first  service. 

After  service  in  the  afternoon,  Brigham  told  my  father 
that  he  wished  to  see  him  on  important  business.  They 
were  closeted  together  for  two  hours,  talking  very  earnestly. 
I  supposed  it  had  to  do  with  church  matters,  as  my  father 
was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  South  Cottonwood,  and  had 
been  so  long  a  prominent  member  of  the  Mormon  Church 
that  it  was  by  no  means  strange  that  Brigham  had  so  much 
to  say  to  him.  I  thought,  possibly,  they  might  be  discuss- 
ing the  Howard  affair ;  but  beyond  that  I  thought  nothing. 
I  certainly  had  no  idea  that  I  was  the  subject  under  discus- 
sion ;  that  my  future  was  being  planned  for  me  without  any 
regard  to  my  will  in  the  matter.  Had  I  known  it,  I  should 


HE   WANTS   TO   MARRY   ME.  439 

by  no  means  have  gone  about  my  duties  with  such  a  light 
heart,  nor  frolicked  so  gaily  with  my  children. 

At  the  end  of  the  two  hours  my  mother  was  called  into 
the  room,  and  the  discussion  was  resumed.  After  a  short 
time  all  came  out.  Brigham  went  away,  bidding  us  all  good- 
bye with  much  cordiality,  and  with  an  added  impressiveness 
in  his  manner  towards  me. 

When  he  had  gone,  my  father  told  me  the  subject  of  their 
long  conversation. 

Brigham  Young  had  proposed  to  him  for  me  as  a  wife. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 


HOW  BRIGHAM   YOUNG   FORCED   ME   TO   MARRY   HIM. 

Brigham's  Offer  of  Marriage.  —  I  Think  the  Prophet  Too  Old.  —  My 
Parents  are  Delighted  with  the  Honor.  —  They  Try  to  Persuade  Me.  — 
I  am  Very  Obstinate.  —  Arguing  the  Matter.  —  How  Brigham  Found 
Means  to  Influence  Me.  —  My  Brothers  get  into  Trouble.  —  The 
Prophet  and  the  Telegraph-Poles.  —  He  Takes  a  Nice  Little  Contract. 
—  Then  Sells  it  to  His  Son.  —  Bishop  Sharp  Makes  a  Few  Dollars  Out 
of  It  —  My  Brother  Engages  in  the  Work.  —  He  Becomes  Involved  in 
Debts  and  Difficulties.  —  Brigham  Threatens  to  Cut  Him  Off  for  Dis- 
honesty. —  My  Mother  Tries  to  Excuse  Him.  —  Hemmed  In  on  All 
Sides,  I  Determine  to  Make  One  Last  Appeal.  —  I  Fail,  and  Consent 
to  Marry  Him. 


ROSE  to  my  feet  shocked 
beyond  expression. 

I  looked  from  my 
father  to  my  mother, 
hoping  that  they  were 
merely  jesting  with  me ; 
for  I  had  no  idea  that 
what  they  told  me  could 
be  true  ;  it  was  too  mon- 
strous an  absurdity.  But 
the  expression  of  their 
faces  did  not  reassure 
me.  I  saw  that  they 
were  in  earnest ;  that  it 
was  true;  and  I  burst 
out  into  a  passionate  fit 


A  CRUSHING  BLOW.  —  BRIGHAM  WISHES  TO  MARRY  ME. 


of  weeping. 

My  mother  came  to  me,  and  took  my  hand  and  caressed 
it  in  her  own,  and  my  father  tried  to  reassure  me. 


BRIGHAM    CONFIDENT    OF    SUCCESS.  44! 

"  Why,  my  dear,  what  is  the  matter  ?  Are  you  crying 
because  the  Head  of  our  Church  —  the  most  powerful  and 
influential  man  among  us  —  has  made  you  an  offer  of  mar- 
riage? Why,  it  is  nothing  to  cry  about,  surely." 

But  I  felt  that  it  was  something  to  cry  over  —  something, 
indeed,  over  which  to  shed  the  bitterest  tears  that  could  be 
wrung  from  my  heart's  deepest  anguish.  I  felt  outraged, 
betrayed ;  to  think,  after  our  conversation  that  very  day,  — 
but  a  very  few  hours  before,  —  when  I  had  told  him  frankly 
my  reluctance  and  abhorrence  at  the  very  idea  of  marrying 
again,  that  he  should  go  deliberately  and  propose  for  me, 
showed  a  lack  of  delicacy  and  consideration  which  greatly 
surprised  me.  It  was  quite  evident  that  he  looked  upon  my 
assertions  as  girlish  affectation  that  a  good  offer  would 
speedily  overcome.  He  was  so  confident  of  his  success  with 
the  women  he  chose  to  woo,  that  he  had  no  idea  of  meeting 
any  settled  opposition.  He  had,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  no 
conception  of  feminine  delicacy  or  sensitiveness  ;  laughed  at 
it  as  ridiculous,  and  called  the  women  who  exhibited  it  "  sen- 
timental fools."  I  had  nothing  to  hope  from  his  mercy,  but 
I  did  not  know  it  then.  When  my  first  passion  of  grief  had 
spent  itself,  I  turned  to  my  father,  still  holding  my  mother's 
hand,  and  said,  — 

"What  answer  did  you  make  him?  " 

"  I  told  him  that  I  would  lay  the  proposition  before  you, 
and  tell  him  what  your  decision  was.  He  said  that  he  had 
talked  with  you  on  the  subject  of  marriage,  and  that  you 
told  him  no  one  had  proposed  for  you  whom  you  fancied ; 
that  he  was  glad  you  were  not  easily  pleased  and  suited 
with  every  new-comer,  for  he  intended  to  place  you  in  a 
position  where  you  would  be  vastly  the  social  superior  of  all 
your  present  lovers." 

"Didn't  he  tell  you  that  I  said  I  never  should  marry 
again  ?  that  my  life  was  to  be  devoted  to  my  chil- 
dren?" 

"Yes ;  he  said  you  mentioned  something  of  that  sort,  but 


442  W  I   CANNOT,    CANNOT   MARRY   HIM  !  " 

that  he  didn't  take  any  stock  in  it ;  all  girls  talked  so  ;  it  was 
their  way  of  playing  the  coquette ;  he  understood  it,  and  he 
liked  you  better  for  your  coyness." 

"I  told  him  decidedly,"  I  replied,  "that  I  was  a  girl  no 
longer,  but  a  woman,  who  knew  her  own  mind,  who  had 
arrived  at  the  ability  to  make  her  own  decisions  through 
terrible  suffering ;  that  the  thought  of  marriage  was  dis- 
tasteful to  me.  I  wonder  if  he  needs  to  be  told  more  plainly  ? 
If  so,  you  may  go  to  him,  since  you  told  him  you  should 
leave  the  decision  with  me,  and  tell  him  that  I  say  to  him, 
No,  as  I  have  said  it  to  all  my  other  suitors,  and  that  I  do 
not  even  thank  him  for  the  position  he  intended  to  confer 
upon  me,  for  he  knew  I  did  not  want  it.  Does  he  think  I 
have  escaped  one  misery  to  wish  to  enter  another  ?  '  Posi- 
tion ! '  I  wonder  what  he  thinks  there  is  particularly  fine 
about  being  a  plural  wife  even  to  Brigham  Young?  I  have 
not  seen  so  much  happiness  in  the  system,  even  among  his 
wives,  that  I. care  to  enter  it.  And  I  never,  never  can." 

My  father  interrupted  me.  "  You  are  excited,  now,  my 
daughter.  Be  calm,  and  think  the  matter  over  reasonably. 
Don't  decide  in  this  hasty  manner." 

w  I  might  think  it  over,  reasonably,  as  you  call  it,  for  the 
rest  of  my  life,  and  the  conclusion  I  should  arrive  at  would 
be  the  same.  I  never  will,  of  my  free  will  and  accord, 
marry  Brigham  Young ;  and  you  might  as  well  tell  him  so 
at  once,  and  have  the  matter  settled." 

"  But,  my  dear  child,"  said  my  mother,  stroking  my  hair 
fondly,  and  looking  at  me  with  anxious  eyes,  "  suppose  it 
was  your  duty  ?  " 

"O,  mother,  mother  I  have  you  turned  against  me,  too? 
Am  I  to  fight  you  all,  single-handed,  alone?  Won't  you, 
at  least,  stand  by  me?  " 

"I  would,  gladly,  my  only,  my  darling  daughter,  if  I  was 
sure  that  it  would  be  right." 

"Do  you  doubt  the  right  of  it?  Can  you  doubt  it?  Or 
do  you  think  it  would  not  be  wrong  to  stifle  all  natural 


MY    PARENTS    AGAINST    ME.  443 

feelings,  all  aversion  to  another  union,  above  all,  to  him? 
Would  it  be  right,  do  you  think,  to  give  myself  to  a  man 
older  than  my  father,  from  whom  I  shrink  with  aversion 
when  I  think  of  him  as  my  husband,  who  is  already  the 
husband  of  many  wives,  the  father  of  children  older,  by 
many  years,  than  myself?" 

"  But  he  is  your  spiritual  leader." 

"  That  is  no  reason  why  he  should  be  my  earthly  hus- 
band. I  cannot  see  what  claim  that  gives  him  to  my  affec- 
tion." 

"The  doctrines  of  our  church  teach  you  to  marry," 

"Do  you  want  to  get  rid  of  me?"  I  asked,  suddenly, 
raising  my  head  and  looking  her  full  in  the  face.  I  dared 
not  enter  into  religious  discussion  with  her,  for  I  felt  so 
bitterly  that  I  should  be  sure  to  say  something  to  shock  her ; 
and  then  I  knew  that,  in  argument,  I  should  be  fairly 
worsted ;  so  I  made  my  appeal  on  personal  grounds,  and 
touched  her  heart,  as  I  was  sure  I  should.  She  threw  both 
arms  about  me,  and  sobbed  as  violently  as  I  had  done. 

"You  know  I  do  not.  How  can  you  say  that?  I  was 
only  saying  what  I  did,  because  I  thought  it  was  for  your 
good  here  and  hereafter.  Did  I  consult  my  own  feelings, 
no  one  should  have  you  except  myself;  but  I  think  of  your 
welfare  before  my  selfish  desires." 

"O,  mother,  I  can't,  I  can't,"  I  cried  in  a  sudden 
agony,  as  the  thought  of  all  such  a  marriage  involved, 
rushed  across  me. 

"  Don't  fret  so,  child,"  said  my  father,  speaking  for  the 
first  time  since  my  mother  had  joined  in  the  conversation. 
"I  will  tell  Brother  Brigham  how  you  feel,  and  perhaps  he 
will  give  up  the  idea.  But  he  seemed  to  have  set  his  heart 
on  it,  and  I  don't  know  how  he'll  take  it." 

"Why,  I  belong  to  you,  father.  Tell  him  so,  and  that 
you  can't  give  me  away  to  anybody." 

My  father  smiled  a  little  at  me,  grew  grave  again,  and 
went  away. 


444 


A  YEAR  OF  ANGUISH  AND  TORTURE, 


He  told  Brigham  how  averse  I  was  ;  and  he  only  laughed, 
and  said  I  should  get  over  it,  if  I  only  had  time.  He  would 
not  give  me  up,  but  he  would  not  hasten  matters  ;  he  would 
leave  me  in  my  parents'  hands,  and  he  hoped  they  would 
induce  me  to  listen  favorably  to  his  proposals.  The  last 
remark  was  made  with  a  peculiar  emphasis  and  a  sinister 
smile,  which  every  Saint  who  had  had  dealings  with  him 
knew  very  well,  and  whose  meaning  they  also  knew.  It 
meant,  "  Do  as  I  command  you,  or  suffer  the  weight  of  my 
displeasure."  He  sent  a  message  to  me,  which,  though 
seemingly  kind,  contained  a  covert  threat ;  and  I  began  to 
feel  the  chains  tightening  around  me  already.  I  felt  sure 
that  I  could  not  free  myself,  but  I  would  struggle  to  the 
end. 

Thus  began  a  year  of  anguish  and  torture.  I  fought 
against  my  fate  in  every  possible  way.  Brigham  was 
equally  persistent,  and  he  tried  in  every  way  to  win  me,  a 
willing  bride,  before  he  attempted  to  coerce  me.  He  told 
my  parents,  and  myself,  too,  that  he  had  always  had  great 
interest  in  me,  and  had  intended  to  propose  for  me  so  soon 

as  I  was  old  enough;  that 
when  he  sent  for  me  to  the 
theatre,  and  proposed  my 
being  at  the  Lion  House,  it 
was  that  I  might  become 
familiar  with  the  place  and 
its  inmates,  and  so  not  feel 
strange  when  he  should  bring 
me  there  as  a  wife.  It  had 
been  his  intention  to  have  pro- 
posed for  me  then ;  but  he 
had  just  married  Amelia,  and 
it  had  made  such  a  hue-and- 
cry  among  the  Gentiles,  es- 
pecially as  he  had  taken  her  directly  in  the  face  of  the  late 
congressional  law  against  polygamy,  that  he  did  not  think  it 


CHAUNCEY  G.  WEBB. 
["My  Father."] 


MORE  INFLUENCES  BROUGHT  TO  BEAR. 


445 


wise  to  add  another  to  the  list  just  then  ;  so  he  said  nothing 
of  his  intentions,  and  before  he  knew  anything  of  my  en- 
gagement, I  was  ready  to  be  married.  It  was  a  great 
shock  to  him ;  but  as  matters  had  gone  so  far,  and  as  he 
was  in  such  a  questionable  position  before  the  government, 
he  thought  it  best  not  to  interfere,  as  he  most  assuredly 
would,  had  he  known  my  intentions  earlier.  Now  I  was 
free,  and  he  was  at  liberty  to  tell  me,  what  he  had  wanted 
to  tell  me  long  before,  that  he  loved  me. 

Finding  that  this  declaration  of  affection  failed  to  move 
me,  he  tried  another  tack.  He  asked  my  father  if  a  house 
and  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  would  make  me  comfortable, 
as  he  wished  to  settle  something  on  me  when  I  married 
him,  taking  for  granted  that  I  should  do  so. 

My  mother  and  father  both  favored  his  suit,  and  labored 
with  me  to  induce  me  to  view  it  in  the  same  light.  Brig- 
ham  was  our  spiritual  guide ;  it  might  be  that  in  refusing 
him  I  should  lose  all  hopes 
of  future  salvation.  That 
was  my  mother's  plea.  My 
father's  was,  that  Brigham 
was  able  to  hurt  him  pecun- 
iarily. And  then  came  my 
oldest  brother,  who  added 
his  influence  in  Brigham's 
favor  by  telling  me  that  Brig- 
ham  had  it  in  his  power  to 
ruin  him,  and  was  very  angry 
with  him,. and  had  threatened 
to  "cut  him  off  from  the 
church,"  which  was,  to  a 
person  in  his  position,  the  very  worst  thing  that  could 
happen. 

The  trouble  between  them  was  of  Brigham's  own  mak- 
ing, and  I  will  give  it,  as  briefly  as  I  can,  to  show  how 
Brigham  managed  to  get  everything  out  of  his  people 


ELIZA  C.  WEBB, 
[Mv  Mother.] 


446  THE  PROPHET'S  LITTLE  CONTRACT. 

without  paying  for  it,  and,  at  the  same  time,  show  the 
amount  of  honor  which  he  has  in  business  matters. 

In  1860  the  first  telegraph  line  was  extended  from  the 
Atlantic  States  to  the  Pacific,  passing  through  Salt  Lake 
City.  Peramorz  Little,  a  nephew  of  the  President,  took  a 
contract  to  furnish  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of 
poles,  at  three  dollars  each.  According  to  Brigham's  state- 
ment, Little  was  unable  to  fill  the  contract  until  the  Prophet 
came  to  the  rescue,  and  secured  three  dollars  and  a  quarter 
each,  by  furnishing  one  hundred  miles  of  sawed  poles, 
although,  in  truth,  the  sawed  timber  was  not  so  good  as 
common  round  poles. 

Six  years  later,  a  rival  company  commenced  putting  up 
a  new  line.  Brigham  negotiated  for  a  contract,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  nearly  eight  hundred  miles,  —  extending 
from  Denver  City  westward,  —  at  the  very  gratifying  price 
of  eight  dollars  a  pole.  It  is  very  generally  believed  that 
Brigham  and  one  of  the  new  company  had  a  previous  un- 
derstanding to  divide  the  profits  on  this  magnificent  job. 

He  then  sub-let  the  whole  contract  to  Bishop  John  Sharp 
and  Joseph  A.  Young,  —  his  eldest  son,  who  has  recently 
died,  —  at  three  dollars  a  pole  ;  and  my  brother  Gilbert  took 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  —  from  Green  River  to 
Denver  —  at  the  very  reasonable  price  of  two  dollars  and  a 
half  a  pole.  He  was  then  the  owner  of  ten  freight  wag- 
ons, with  six  mules  to  each  wagon ;  but,  in  order  to  fill  his 
contract,  he  found  himself  compelled  to  purchase  six  addi- 
tional teams,  at  a  cost  of  seven  thousand  dollars,  which, 
with  tools,  provisions,  and  general  outfit,,  increased  the  sum 
to  nearly  eleven  thousand  dollars,  which  he  was  obliged  to 
borrow,  paying  a  very  heavy  interest  —  five  per  cent,  a 
month;  but  that,  of  course,  was  his  own  fault,  not  the 
Prophet's. 

Brigham  was  anxious  to  have  the  work  done  immedi- 
ately, —  which  is  not  at  all  strange  when  one  remembers 
that  he  would  make  five  dollars  on  each  pole,  —  and  he 


HIS   ARRANGEMENT   WITH   MY    BROTHER.  447 

had  sent-  for  my  brother,  and  urged  him  to  take  the  job, 
telling  him  that  he  knew  of  no  one  so  suitable,  for  Gilbert 
had  such  a  fine  business  reputation ;  adding  that  he  was 
certain  that  the  blessing  of  God  would  rest  upon  him,  for 
it  was  His  will  that  all  the  Saints  should  accumulate  riches. 
After  all  this,  and  very  much  more  talk  of  the  same  kind, 
Gilbert  was  induced  to  take  the  contract,  my  father  giving 
security  for  the  borrowed  money. 

My  brother  left  Salt  Lake  City  with  his  outfit  as  early  as 
the  snow  would  permit  him  to  cross  the  mountains.  When 
he  had  got  his  wagons  loaded  with  poles  for  the  first  time, 
Brigham  telegraphed  for  him  to  stop  work  and  return 
to  the  city.  He  immediately  complied  with  the  order,  and 
found,  on  his  arrival,  that  there  was  a  prospect  of  the  new 
company  compromising  with  the  old,  and  putting  up  no 
line.  They  now  desired  to  buy  off  all  contracts.  Brigham 
would  clear  on  the  contract  one  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
if  the  line  was  put  up,  and  of  course  could  compromise  for 
no  less.  Sharp  and  Joseph  A.  wanted  forty  thousand 
dollars,  and  my  brother  ten  thousand,  if  they  gave  up  the 
contract.  Brigham  said  that,  in  justice,  Gilbert  ought  to 
have  twenty  thousand  dollars,  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
delay,  &c. 

Of  course  it  was  cheaper  to  put  up  the  line  than  to  com- 
promise at  this  cost,  and  he  returned  to  his  work,  having 
lost  twelve  days.  His  expenses  at  this  time  were  about  one 
hundred  dollars  a  day.  He  had  thirty  men  employed,  at 
sixty  dollars  a  month  and  their  board,  and  he  also  had 
grain  to  furnish  for  one  hundred  mules.  Brigham  prom- 
ised to  pay  for  all  this  delay,  but  as  usual  he  failed 
to  do  so. 

My  brother  than  began  to  furnish  the  poles,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  delivering  about  twenty-five  miles  a  week.  For 
two  months  he  received  his  pay  quite  regularly,  and  every- 
thing went  on  swimmingly.  When  he  was  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  from  Denver,  having  completed  about  three 


A    SHARP   PIECE    OF    BUSINESS. 

hundred  and  fifty  miles,  he  was  sent  for  to  give  up  his  con- 
tract on  the  eastern  line,  and  take  a  contract  on  the  north- 
ern line  instead.  That  was  between  Utah  and  Montana. 
Gilbert  was  much  averse  to  the  change,  as  he  had  finished 
the  most  difficult  portion  of  his  work,  and  passed  through 
where  the  timber  is  the  least  accessible.  But  Brigham  in- 
sisted, and  wrote,  promising  to  make  it  all  right  with  him 
if  he  would  come  back,  and  go  up  north,  and  furnish  one 
hundred  miles  or  more  of  poles.  Finally  he  sent  Joseph 
A.  down  to  my  brother,  who  succeeded  in  persuading  him 
to  return. 

While  on  his  way  back,  he  met  Mr.  E.  Creighton,  the 
superintendent  of  the  line,  with  a  company  of  men,  setting 
the  poles  which  he  had  furnished.  Being  desirous  of  giv- 
ing thorough  satisfaction,  he  sent  Mr.  Lorenzo  Ensign, 
with  three  teams,  loaded  with  good  poles,  to  exchange  for 
any  poor  timber  which  did  not  satisfy.  Those  teams  con- 
tinued with  the  pole-setters  until  Mr.  Creighton  sent  them 
back,  remarking  that  he  did  not  find  it  necessary  to  change 
one  pole  a  day,  and  that  he  was  entirely  satisfied  with  the 
timber.  I  mention  this  because  Brigham  afterwards  said 
that  the  contract  was  not  well  filled,  and  made  this  an 
excuse  for  not  paying  my  brother.  Those  three  teams 
remained  with  the  pole-setters  about  four  weeks,  and,  as  I 
before  said,  were  dismissed  by  one  of  the  owners  of  the  line. 

Gilbert  returned  home  in  August,  and,  on  starting  for  the 
north,  Joseph  A.  asked  him  to  set  the  poles  that  he  should 
furnish  on  the  Montana  line,  at  the  same  time  agreeing  to 
pay  him  a  dollar  apiece  for  setting,  and  three  dollars  for  the 
poles.  That  was  fifty  cents  more  than  he  received  on  the 
eastern  line,  but  it  would  scarcely  pay  him  for  a  move  of  six 
hundred  miles,  to  a  country  where  timber  was  in  very  high 
mountains  and  rough  canons. 

Removing  from  the  east  of  course  broke  the  original 
contract ;  but  as  Gilbert  had  all  the  confidence  in  the  world 
in  the  word  of  Brigham  and  of  Joseph  A.,  he  neglected  to 


"HUNT  UP  SHARP  AND  JOSEPH  A."  449 

make  a  new  written  agreement.  After  he  had  furnished 
the  poles  for  about  one  hundred  miles,  my  younger  brother 
—  who  was  farming  at  the  time  —  took  his  team,  and,  after 
hiring  six  men,  went  to  set  the  poles,  paying  his  men  two 
dollars  a  day  and  their  board.  They  worked  four  weeks, 
for  which  they  never  received  one  dollar. 

When  my  youngest  brother  was  about  leaving  for  home, 
Gilbert  gave  him  an  order  on  Sharp  and  Young  for  one 
thousand  dollars.  While  Gilbert  was  in  the  East  he  had 
sent  orders  for  money  every  month  for  my  youngest  brother 
to  collect  and  disburse.  Those  orders  were  promptly  paid, 
and  he  had  no  thought  that  this  one  would  not  be  paid  as 
promptly.  He  called  at  Brigham's  office,  and  presented  the 
order,  and  was  curtly  informed  by  Brigham  that  he  must 
"  hunt  up  Sharp  and  Joseph  A." 

On  inquiring  for  their  office,  it  could  not  be  found.  The 
day  following  he  chanced  to  meet  Bishop  Sharp,  who  re- 
ferred him  to  Joseph  A.  He  called  at  the  latter's  residence 
three  times  without  seeing  him  ;  finally,  four  days  after,  my 
brother  succeeded  in  meeting  him  in  his  father's  office.  He 
was  told  to  sit  down  in  the  outer  room,  where  he  was  left 
alone  for  two  hours ;  then  he  was  called  into  the  private 
office,  and  told  that  there  was  no  money  for  him. 

w  But,"  said  he  to  Brigham  and  Joseph  A.,  "I  must  have 
the  money ;  I  have  ten  men  who  have  already  been  waiting 
five  days  for  their  pay,  and  I  am  still  paying  them,  or  am 
under  obligation  to  do  so,  and  their  board  in  the  city  also ; 
and  none  of  this  can  be  done  without  money." 

After  a  little  more  consultation  Brigham  said,  "We  can 
give  you  a  draft  on  New  York,  which  you  can  cash  with 
some  of  the  bankers  or  merchants  in  the  city. 

My  brother  then  asked  for  time  to  inquire  on  what  terms 
he  could  cash  the  draft ;  but  was  told  that  merchants  would 
often  pay  a  percentage  on  such  paper,  and  that  it  was 
always  as  good  as  money.  He  then  asked,  if  he  was  obliged 
to  have  it  discounted,  if  Sharp  and  Young  would  lose  the 
29 


45  O  MY    BROTHER    RUINED    BY    BRIGHAM. 

amount,  but  was  told  that  he  need  not  be  so  particular,  for 
he  must  take  the  draft  or  nothing,  since  they  had  no  money. 
He  took  it  then,  as  he  saw  very  plainly  that  they  did  not 
intend  to  give  him  anything  else,  and  presented  it  to  every 
banker  and  merchant  in  Salt  Lake  City,  but  could  find  no 
one  who  would  take  it.  On  a  second  call  at  Walker 
Brothers',  he  succeeded  in  cashing  it  at  three  per  cent  dis- 
count. Meeting  Joseph  A.  afterwards,  he  told  him  he 
should  charge  him  with  the  thirty  dollars.  Joe  replied,  "All 
right ; "  yet  neither  he  nor  Gilbert  ever  received  another  dol- 
lar from  them,  though  they  were  in  the  boys'  debt  two 
thousand  dollars. 

When  Gilbert  returned  from  the  North  he  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  pay  his  men,  and  also  to  meet  his  other  expenses. 
He  spent  the  winter  trying  to  get  his  pay,  during  which  my 
younger  brother,  Edward,  took  the  teams  and  went  to  Cali- 
fornia for  freight,  hoping  by  that  means  to  save  Gilbert  from 
bankruptcy.  The  trip  not  proving  successful,  the  spring  of 
'67  opened  very  dark  for  us  financially.  Gilbert  saw  no 
way  but  to  sell  his  teams.  I  remember  his  coming  home 
one  night,  feeling  extremely  dejected,  and  telling  us  he  had 
sold  sixteen  of  his  best  mules  for  less  than  half  the  amount 
he  had  paid  for  them,  and  expected  the  remainder  to  go  at 
a  still  lower  price. 

In  the  spring  of  1868  he  was  forced  into  bankruptcy  by 
Captain  Hooper,  one  of  his  principal  creditors.  This  same 
Captain  William  H.  Hooper  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  one 
of  the  Prophet's  favorites,  although  he  was  by  no  means  a 
Mormon  at  heart,  and  Brigham  knew  it;  still,  as  he  liked 
him,  and  as  Hooper  made  sufficient  pretence  to  pass  for  one, 
it  was  all  right. 

When  Gilbert  delivered  up  his  papers  to  the  assignees, 
they  readily  discovered  a  large  indebtedness  on  the  part  of 
Sharp  and  Young.  At  a  meeting  of  the  creditors,  Brig- 
ham,  who  took  the  responsibility  of  the  whole  affair,  under- 
took to  have  everything  his  own  way,  and,  as  my  younger 


IN   A   FEARFUL    RAGE.  45 1 

brother  remarked,  "literally  rode  over  the  whole  company 
rough-shod."  Among  other  statements,  he  said,  — 

"  Gilbert  Webb's  poles  were  many  of  them  condemned," 
which  was  utterly  false.  He  then  said  he  had  never  writ- 
ten to  Gilbert  while  he  was  East.  In  face  of  this  the  let- 
ter was  produced  and  read  before  the  company.  He  then 
said  he  was  sure  he  had  no  recollection  of  it,  and  asked 
George  Q^  Cannon  —  who  was  his  clerk  at  that  time  —  if  he 
remembered  it.  Cannon  replied  that  he  believed  he  did. 
Previous  to  this,  when  Gilbert  saw  that  he  must  lose  every- 
thing, he  considered  it  his  duty  to  pay  off  his  men,  also  to 
pay  the  notes  which  my  father  had  signed,  and  to  save  him 
from  utter  ruin.  At  this  Brigham's  rage  knew  no  bounds  ; 
he  wanted  Hooper  to  have  his  pay  first.  One  of  Gilbert's 
creditors  was  a  Mr.  Kerr,  a  Gentile  banker,  whom  he  paid 
without  consulting  the  Prophet,  which  greatly  enraged  him. 
In  speaking  of  it  to  my  mother,  he  manifested  all  the 
growling  propensities  of  an  old  "  cur ; "  saying  that  Gilbert 
had  paid  all  the  notes  due  to  Gentiles,  and  left  his  friend 
Hooper  to  take  his  chance  with  the  rest  of  the  creditors,  and 
he  intended  to  disfellowship  him  for  it. 

This  was  when  he  was  "counselling"  my  parents  to  use 
their  influence  with  me  in  his  behalf. 

"If  you  do  that,  Brother  Young,"  said  my  mother,  "I 
shall  find  it  very  hard  to  forgive  you  ;  although  Gilbert  may 
have  erred  in  judgment,  he  designed  to  do  right.  Would 
you,  President  Young,  like  to  have  his  father  ruined  in  the 
crash  ?  The  notes  held  by  Mr.  Kerr  were  signed  by  him." 
He  said,  "  If  his  father  signed  the  notes,  he  ought  to  pay 
them." 

"Well,"  replied  my  mother,  with  considerable  spirit,  "if 
Gilbert  had  been  paid  for  his  work,  he  would  have  been 
able  to  have  paid  all  his  debts." 

He  was  very  angry  at  this,  and  said,  "What  do  you 
know  about  business,  I'd  like  to  know?" 

"  I  know  enough  to  know  when  my  children  are  ill-used 


45- 


"  r  . "     J  ."  N  .  r  S  T 


and  cheated,  Brigjiam  Young,9  said  she,  qukkly.  WI 
wonder  how  joa  would  Eke  to  have  one  of  jour  sons  cut 
off  from  the  church,  and  treated  in  the  manner  in  which  you 
hare  treated  Gilbert.* 

*I  should  think  it  perfectly  right  if  one  of  my  hoys  had 
done  wrong  and  needed  punishment."  Yet  k  is  well  known 
chat  there  are  no  mofe  mpp*  hftoj^J^p  men  m  the  A  emtofy 
than  his  eldest  sons :  hut  there  never  have  been  the  slightest 


After  a  stOl  more 

Prc  r r.ct  rrc  £   r.is 

should  see  if  '  Gilbert  would  pay  his  Gentile  debts  in  pref- 


contest  with  my  mother,  the 
a  a  great  rage,  saying  he 


to  paying  the  brethren.* 
AIL  this  was  for  the  puipose  of  influencing  me,  and  I  saw 
that  I  must  yield.    "Inhere  was  nothing  but  ruin  in  store  for 
us  if  I  persisted  in  my  refusal.     The  loss  of  property  was 
by  no  means  so  dreadful  a  thing  to  my  brother — brought  up 

no  Silvio-  cuisice  of  Mormon: 


OWE  LAST  APPEAL.  453 

— as  being  cot  off  from  the  church  and  receiving  the  Prophet' s 
curse,  and  he  was  heart-broken  at  the  {^aspect. 

I  made  tip  my  mind  to  make  one  last  appeal  myself  to 
Brigham  Young,  and  see  if  I  could  not  touch  his  heart  and 
induce  him  to  resign  his  flainry  to  me,  and  not  to  punish  my 
family  because  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  become  his  wife. 
I  was  sure  that  I  could  more  him.  I  would  make  myself 
so  humble,  so  pathetic,  before  him.  I  would  do  all  I  could 
to  serve  him.  I  would  never  forget  his  kindness  to  me ; 
but  I  could  not  marry  him  without  bringing  great  unhappi- 
ness  upon  myself.  I  should  also  fail  to  bring  happiness  or 
comfort  to  him.  I  would  be  so  eloquent  that  he  could  not 
refuse  to  listen  to  me. 

I  went  up  to  the  city  to  visit  a  friend,  quite  determined  to 
make  this  appeal  to  him,  but  my  courage  failed  me.  Two 
or  three  times  I  started  to  call  to  see  him,  but  I  would  only 
get  in  sight  of  his  office,  and  turn  back  faint  and  trembling. 
One  day  I  saw  him  coming  towards  me  in  the  street,  and  I 
determined  to  screw  up  my  courage  and  speak  to  him. 
But  when  I  reached  him  my  tongue  refused  to  speak  the 
words,  and  I  only  {altered  oat  a  common-place  greeting. 
All  my  eloquence  was  frozen  under  the  chilling  glance  of 
the  steely-blue  eyes,  which  had  not  a  ray  of  sympathetic 
warmth  in  them.  No  one  who  has  ever  been  under  his 
peculiar  influence  but  will  understand  me  when  I  say  *fcaf 
in  his  presence  I  was  powerless.  My  wifl  refused  to  act, 
and  I  went  away  from  him,  knowing  that  I  never  could  say 
to  him  what  I  felt. 

I  returned  home,  feeling,  more  than  ever,  that  my  doom 
was  fixed.  My  religion,  my  parents — everything  was 
urging  me  on  to  my  unhappy  fate,  and  I  had  grown  so 
tired  with  struggling  that  I  felt  it  was  easier  to  sncrnmh  at 
once  than  to  fight  any  longer.  I  began,  too,  to  be  super- 
stitious about  it ;  I  did  not  know  but  that  I  was  fighting  the 
will  of  the  Lord  as  well  as  the  will  of  the  Prophet,  and  that 
nothing  but  disaster  would  come  as  long  as  I  was  so  rebel- 


454  N0    ALTERNATIVE I    MUST   YIELD. 

lious.  The  thought  struck  me,  in  a  sudden  terror,  w  What 
if  God  should  take  my  children,  to  punish  my  rebellious 
spirit?"  It  was  agony.  "Not  my  will,  but  thine,"  was  my 
heart-broken  cry,  —  more  desperate  than  resigned,  how- 
ever, —  and  I  went  to  my  mother  and  told  her  that  I  had 
decided.  I  would  become  the  wife  of  Brigham  Young  ! 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

MY   MARRIAGE   WITH   BRIGHAM   YOUNG.  — HOW  THE 
OTHER   WIVES   RECEIVED   ME. 

The  Prophet  Rejoices  at  my  Yielding.  —  My  Family  Restored  to  Favor. 
—  The  Webbs  Reconstructed.  —  My  Prophet- Lover  Comes  to  See 
Me.  —  He  Goes  Courting  "on  the  Sly,"  for  Fear  of  Amelia.  —  We 
are  Married  Secretly  in  the  Endowment-House.  —  I  am  Sent  Home 
Again. — Brigham  Establishes  Me  in  the  City.  —  Limited  Plates  and 
Dishes.  —  We  Want  a  Little  More  Food.  —  The  Prophet's  "  Ration- 
Day."— How  the  Other  Wives  Received  Me.  —  Mrs.  Amelia  Doesn't 
Like  Me.  —  How  the  Wives  of  the  Prophet  Worry  and  Scold  Him.  — 
The  Prophet  Breaks  His  Word.  —  My  Father  Remembers  the  Thou- 
sand Dollars. 


Y  acceptance  of  his  suit 
was  carried  to  him  at 
once,  and  he  was  tri- 
umphant, although  he 
did  not  show  it,  except 
by  an  added  suavity  of 
manner,  and  a  dispo- 
sition to  make  jokes, 
which,  of  course,  every- 
one was  expected  to 
laugh  at  as  heartily  as 
he  did  himself. 

My  family  were  re- 
stored to  favor,  although 
my  brother  did  not  re- 
ceive his  money ;  and 
everything  "went  merry 
as  a  marriage-bell  "  for 

everybody,  except  myself.  I  had  promised  to  marry  him,  but 
I  was  not  resigned.  I  still  fought  against  it,  but  the  conflict 
now  was  all  internal.  I  did  not  dare  admit  anyone  to  my  con- 


AMELIA  TRIES  TO  KEEP  Ms  OUT. 


45^  MARRIED    TO    BRIGHAM    YOUNG. 

fidence,  not  even  my  mother.  So  I  had  to  struggle  alone 
with  my  impending  fate,  all  the  time  suffering  the  stings  of 
conscience  as  well ;  for  I  thought  I  must  be  terribly  wicked 
to  fight  so  hard  against  what  was  represented  to  me  as  the 
direct  will  of  God ;  and,  what  was  worse,  I  could  not  pray 
for  forgiveness,  for  I  could  not  give  up  my  feeling  of  des- 
perate rebellion. 

I  had  an  early  visit  from  my  affianced  husband,  and  dur- 
ing that  visit  he  told  me  his  plans.  We  were  to  be  married 
very  secretly,  as,  he  said,  he  wished  to  keep  the  matter 
quiet  for  a  while,  for  fear  of  the  United  States'  officials.  I 
found  out  afterwards,  however,  that  it  was  fear  of  Amelia, 
for  she  had  raised  a  furious  storm  a  few  months  before ; 
when,  as  I  previously  said,  he  married  Mary  Van  Cott,  to 
whom,  by  the  way,  he  was  paying  his  addresses  while  he 
was  wooing  me,  and  he  did  not  dare  so  soon  encounter  an- 
other such  domestic  tornado. 

He  was  very  anxious  to  have  the  affair  over  as  soon  as 
possible ;  so  we  were  married  the  7th  of  April,  1869,  at  the 
Endowment-House.  Heber  C.  Kimball  performed  the  cere- 
mony, and  I  was  the  wife  of  the  head  of  the  Mormon 
Church  ;  the  turbulent,  passionate,  shrewd,  illiterate,  strange- 
ly powerful  man,  who  was  the  object  of  interest  both  in 
America  and  Europe ;  who  was  regarded  with  a  strange, 
curious  interest  by  outsiders  -,  who  was  dreaded  by  his  own 
people,  and  who  ruled  them  with  an  absolute  sway.  I  little 
thought  into  what  publicity  this  new  relationship  would 
bring  me. 

After  the  ceremony  was  over,  Brigham  took  me  back  to 
my  mother's  house,  where  I  was  to  remain  for  the  present, 
until  he  should  deem  it  prudent  to  let  Amelia  and  the  United 
States  government  know  that  I  was  his  wife.  Before  our 
marriage,  he  had  given  me  some  very  pretty  dresses,  and 
a  small  sum  of  money,  as  a  wedding-gift ;  but  I  never 
got  such  a  present  again  afterwards.  After  I  had  been  his 
wife  three  weeks,  he  made  me  his  first  call ;  stayed  a  few 


A    PROPHETICAL    HONEYMOON.  457 

minutes,  and  then  went  away.  A  few  days  after,  he  came 
and  asked  me  to  go  to  drive  with  him.  I  went,  and  he  took 
me  round  all  the  by-ways  where  he  would  see  few  or  no 
people,  and  where  he  thought  there  would  be  no  danger 
that  Amelia  would  hear  of  it.  He  did  not  enjoy  the  drive 
one  bit,  for  he  was  in  constant  terror  lest  he  should  be  dis- 
covered. He  was  anxious  and  distrait;  while  I,  on  the 
contrary,  was  in  the  highest  spirits.  I  laughed  and  chatted, 
and  made  myself  as  pleasant  as  possible.  I  could  afford  to 
do  it,  for  he  was  suffering  all  those  torments  for  my  sake, 
and  although  he  had  no  idea  that  I  discovered  his  fears,  I 
did  very  readily,  and  was  jubilant  in  proportion  to  his 
misery.  I  didn't  feel  specially  complimented,  to  be  sure ; 
but,  as  I  did  not  desire  his  attentions,  and  was  happier  with- 
out them,  I  did  not  allow  my  pride  to  receive  a  very  severe 
wound,  but  was  exceedingly  gracious  to  him,  the  more 
nervous  and  absorbed  he  got. 

I  remained  at  home  about  a  month,  during  which  time, 
he  said,  he  was  having  a  house  prepared  for  me  in  the  city. 
I  saw  but  little  of  him  during  that  time,  and  sometimes  I 
would  almost  forget  that  he  had  any  claim  upon  me.  Then 
I  was  happy  indeed ;  but  the  thought  would  force  itself 
through  everything,  and  I  would  become  saddened  again. 
During  the  year  of  struggle,  I  had  lost  my  health  again, 
and  I  was  by  no  means  the  light-hearted,  bright-eyed 
woman  he  had  looked  at  so  intently  that  memorable  Sunday 
at  Cottonwood.  I  had  grown  thin  and  languid,  and  had 
lost  all  interest  in  life,  except  in  my  children.  I  should  not 
have  thought  that  I  would  have  proved  sufficiently  attractive 
to  have  made  him  persevere  so  in  his  determination  to  marry 
me.  But  I  believe  that,  at  the  last,  he  was  influenced  en- 
tirely by  pique  and  wilfulness.  He  would  have  his  own 
way,  and,  after  that,  it  was  little  matter  what  came. 

At  last  he  came  to  me,  and  told  me  that  he  was  ready  for 
me  to  move  into  the  city,  and  invited  my  mother  to  come  and 
live  with  me  —  an  offer  which  she  accepted,  because  she 


45  POOR    LIVING    AND    CHEAP    CROCKERY. 

did  not  wish  to  be  separated  from  me,  and  not  because  she 
had  no  home  of  her  own,  or  was  at  all  dependent  upon  him 
for  support.  He  had  wanted  me  to  go  to  the  Lion  House  to 
live  ;  but  on  that  point  I  was  decided.  I  would  stay  at  my 
father's  house,  but  I  would  not  go  there ;  so  he  had  made  a 
home  for  me  in  the  city.  Such  a  home  as  it  was  !  A  little 
house,  the  rent  of  which  would  have  been  extremely  moder- 
ate had  it  been  a  hired  house,  furnished  plainly,  even  meanly, 
when  the  position  of  the  man  whose  wife  was  to  occupy  it 
was  considered.  It  was  the  very  cheapest  pine  furniture 
which  could  be  bought  in  the  city,  and  the  crockery  was 
dishes  that  Brigham  had  left  when  he  sold  the  Globe  bakery. 
There  were  very  few  of  these,  and  they  were  in  various 
stages  of  dilapidation.  My  carpet  was  an  old  one,  taken 
from  the  Lion  House  parlor,  all  worn  out  in  the  centre, 
and,  it  being  a  large  room,  I  took  the  out  edges  and  pieced 
out  enough  to  cover  two  rooms,  and  the  other  floors  were 
bare.  I  had  no  window  curtains  of  any  sort,  and  there 
being  no  blinds  to  the  house,  I  had  to  hang  up  sheets  to 
keep  people  from  looking  in. 

I  told  him  several  times  that  I  was  insufficiently  supplied  ; 
but  for  a  long  time  he  made  some  excuse  or  other  for  not 
giving  me  more.  At  last  he  sent  me  a  very  few  additional 
ones ;  so  that,  although  there  was  still  a  lack  of  what  I  ac- 
tually needed,  I  managed  to  get  along  by  a  great  deal  of 
contriving. 

We  lived  very  sparely,  even  poorly,  as  did  most  of  the 
wives,  except  the  favorite,  and  one  or  two  others,  who 
asserted  their  rights  to  things,  and  got  them  after  a  great 
deal  of  insisting".  I  could  not  insist,  and  so  I  got  very  little. 
As  I  made  little  or  no  fuss,  and  rarely  complained  to  him, 
he  took  advantage  of  my  quiet  tongue,  and  imposed  upon 
me  fearfully.  He  said,  up  to  the  very  last  of  my  living  with 
him,  that  I  was  the  least  troublesome  of  any  wife  he  had 
ever  had;  and  he  should  have  added,  the  least  expensive, 
for  he  spent  but  very  little  money  for  me. 


THE  PROPHET'S  "  RATION-DAY  !  459 

I  began  to  find  out,  very  soon,  what  a  position  a  neg- 
lected wife  has,  and  my  heart  ached  and  longed  for  free- 
dom. The  thraldom  was  worse  than  I  had  fancied,  for  I 
supposed  that  I  should,  at  least,  have  had  the  comforts  of 
life,  such  as  I  had  been  accustomed  to ;  but  I  was  disap- 
pointed even  in  that.  Then  I  felt  that  I  was  bound  to  this 
kind  of  existence  for  life.  There  was  no  escape  from  it.  I 
was  shut  in  by  every  circumstance,  as  by  a  wall  of  ada- 
mant, and  the  more  I  struggled  to  get  free,  the  worse  I 
should  be  hurt.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  simply  to 
endure  ;  to  die  if  I  could,  to  live  if  I  must.  A  pleasant 
state  of  mind,  surely,  for  a  bride  of  a  few  months. 

The  principal  meat  which  he  furnished  to  us  was  pork ; 
we  had  it  on  all  occasions.  Very  rarely,  indeed,  we  had  a 
piece  of  beef;  but  months  would  elapse  between  his  times  of 
sending  it,  and  we  got  to  look  upon  it  as  a  very  great 
luxury.  He  had  what  he  called  "  Ration-Day "  once  a 
month,  when  the  different  families  were  given  out  their 
allowance  for  the  month.  This  allowance  for  each  family 
was  five  pounds  of  sugar,  a  pound  of  candles,  a  bar  of  soap, 
and  a  box  of  matches.  I  found  this  entirely  inadequate,  and 
so  part  of  the  time  —  unheard-of  liberality  !  —  I  was  allowed 
to  draw  sugar  twice  a  month.  Our  bread  we  had  from  the 
Prophet's  bakery.  Once  in  six  months  his  clerk  got  a  few 
of  the  commonest  necessaries  of  life,  and  each  of  us  had  a 
few  yards  of  calico,  and  a  few  yards  of  both  bleached  and 
unbleached  muslin. 

I  could  not  get  anything  else  out  of  him,  except  by  the 
hardest  labor,  and  the  little  that  I  got  was  given  so  grudg- 
ingly that  I  hated  myself  for  accepting  it ;  and  many  a 
time  I  would  have  thrown  the  pitiful  amount  back  in  his 
face,  but  stern  necessity  would  compel  me  to  accept  the 
money  and  overlook  the  insult.  I  can  scarcely  look  back 
to  those  times,  now  that  I  am  so  far  beyond  them,  without  a 
lowering  of  my  self-respect ;  the  hot  blood  tingles  to  the 
very  ends  of  my  fingers  as  I  recall  the  insults  I  received 


460         TWO    WIVES   WHO   WOULD    NOT    SPEAK   TO    ME. 

from  that  man  while  I  was  his  wife,  and  the  utter  power- 
lessness  of  my  situation,  that  would  not  let  me  resent 
them. 

When  my  marriage  to  him  was  known  by  the  other 
wives,  as  it  was  on  my  removal  to  the  city,  he  took  me  to 
the  Lion  House,  to  visit  the  family  there.  I  was  very 
kindly  received  by  most  of  them,  Emmeline  Free  and  Zina 
Huntington  being  especially  my  friends.  Two  of  them, 
however,  —  Eliza  Burgess  and  Harriet  Cook,  —  would  not 
speak  to  me. 

The  latter  had  been  a  servant  in  my  mother's  family  in 
Nauvoo,  and  Brigham  had,  indeed,  married  her  from  our 
house.  She  used  to  take  care  of  me  when  I  was  a  baby, 
and  she  was  so  angry  when  she  heard  that  Brigham  had 
married  me,  that  she  wished  with  all  her  heart  that  she 
had  choked  me  when  she  had  a  good  chance ;  that  she 
certainly  would  had  she  known  what  my  future  was  to  be. 
Eliza  Burgess,  though  not  the  first,  and  never  a  favorite 
wife,  used  to  be  terribly  exercised  whenever  Brigham  added 
another  to  the  family.  She  would  go  about,  crying  bit- 
terly, for  days,  and  would  sometimes  shut  herself  up  in  her 
room,  refusing  to  see  anyone.  Her  sorrow  was  the  joke 
of  the  family,  since  no  member  of  it  could  see  what  reason 
she  had  for  indulging  in  it.  She  had  but  just  got  over 
mourning  his  alliance  with  Mary  Van  Cott,  when  she  was 
called  upon  to  grieve  over  his  union  with  me. 

She  knew  me  perfectly  well,  as  she  had  been  an  inmate 
of  the  Lion  House  for  some  years,  and  used  to  see  me  con- 
stantly the  winter  I  was  at  the  theatre,  and  spent  so  much 
of  my  time  there ;  but  on  the  occasion  of  my  first  visit  after 
my  marriage,  she  utterly  ignored  my  presence,  and  would 
neither  look  at  me  nor  speak  to  me.  Of  course  I  noticed 
it,  and  I  knew  the  reason  very  well.  I  had  no  hard  feel- 
ings towards  her,  for  I  knew  her  suffering  was  genuine. 
She  got  no  attention  from  her  husband,  and  her  starved 
heart  cried  out  for  the  love  that  was  lavished  on  others. 


"THERE,  MADAM!"  461 

After  I  had  gone,  one  of  the  wives  —  Aunt  Zina,  I  think 
it  was  —  asked  why  she  did  not  speak  to  Ann-Eliza. 

"O,"  she  said,  "I  will  by-and-by,  when  I  feel  like  it." 

I  was  in  and  out  several  times,  and  yet  Eliza  preserved 
the  same  demeanor  towards  me,  until  one  morning  she 
astonished  me  by  coming  up  abruptly  and  saying,  "  Good 
morning." 

I  answered  her  greeting,  and  she  went  away  as  suddenly 
as  she  came,  but  evidently  quite  satisfied  with  herself.  She 
"  felt  like  it,"  I  presume ;  had  grown  more  reconciled  to  my 
position  in  the  family ;  and  was  willing  to  recognize  me  as 
a  member  of  it. 

My  first  encounter  with  Amelia  was  somewhat  amusing. 
It  happened  not  long  after  my  marriage.  She  had  not  got 
over  her  anger  at  her  lord  for  taking  Mary  Van  Cott,  —  of 
whom,  by  the  way,  she  was  terribly  jealous,  —  when  fuel 
was  added  to  the  fire  of  her  fury  by  my  introduction  to  the 
world  as  another  Mrs.  Young.  She  was  terribly  bitter 
towards  us  both,  though  I  think  she  hated  Mary  with  a 
more  deadly  hatred  than  she  felt  for  me.  I  think  she  con- 
sidered Mary  her  most  dangerous  rival,  but  for  all  that  she 
was  not  drawn  towards  me  at  all.  It  was  not  that  she 
disliked  me  less,  but  Mary  more. 

I  was  walking  one  day  with  a  friend,  and  we  were  on 
our  way  to  the  gardens  which  join  the  Prophet's  residence, 
which  are,  by  the  way,  the  very  finest  in  the  city.  Amelia 
was  just  in  front  of  us,  and  she  evidently  judged  from  our 
conversation  where  we  were  going  to.  She  kept  just  about 
so  far  in  front  of  us,  taking  no  notice  of  me  at  all  until  she 
reached  the  garden  gate,  when  she  went  in,  shut  it  with  a 
slam,  and  called  out, — 

"There,  madam  !     I'd  like  to  see  you  get  in  now." 

I  made  no  answer,  but  reaching  through  the  gate,  I 
managed,  with  the  assistance  of  my  friend,  to  open  the 
gate  and  go  in.  We  passed  Amelia  as  s"he  stood  examining 
a  plant,  and  as  we  passed  her  we  did  not  discontinue  our 


462  "WASN'T  SHE  JUST  AWFUL?" 

conversation,  but  kept  on  laughing  merrily  over  some  girl- 
ish reminiscences  which  we  had  recalled  while  on  the  way. 
In  a  few  minutes  more  we  heard  her  scolding  the  head- 
gardener  fearfully.  As  we  returned,  I  stopped  where  the 
old  man  was,  and  said,  — 

"What  is  the  matter,  Mr.  Leggett?" 

"O,"  said  he,  "it  is  Mrs.  Amelia.  Did  you  hear  her 
scolding  me  just  now?  Wasn't  she  just  awful?  She's  that 
mad  because  you  came  in,  that  she  had  to  let  out  on  some- 
body, and  I  suppose  I  came  the  handiest.  But  ain't  she  a 
master  hand  to  scold,  though?  Why,  you'd  ought  to  hear 
her  give  it  to  me  sometimes.  I'm  pretty  well  used  to  it,  and 
don't  mind  very  much.  It's  some  consolation  to  think  that 
Brother  Brigham  gets  it  worse  than  I  do,  and  when  he's 
round,  I'm  safe." 

Just  once,  after  that,  Amelia  spoke  to  me.  It  is  cus- 
tomary, on  Brother  Brigham's  birthday,  for  the  wives  to 
have  a  dinner  in  his  house.  It  is  held  at  the  Lion  House, 
and  all  the  family  assemble  to  do  honor  to  its  head.  At 
one  of  these  dinners  Amelia  sat  directly  opposite  me,  and 
during  the  dessert  she  reached  the  cake-basket  to  me,  and 
with  as  freezing  a  tone  and  manner  as  she  could  assume, 
asked,  — 

"Will  you  have  some  cake?" 

I  declined,  and  that  ended  our  conversation  —  the  last, 
and  indeed  the  only  one  I  ever  had  with  her,  for  the  first 
encounter  could  scarcely  be  called  a  "  conversation,"  since 
the  talking  was  all  on  one  side. 

She  was  even  ruder  to  Mary  Van  Cott  than  to  me.  One 
day,  while  Brigham  was  furnishing  Mary's  house,  he  had 
taken  her  up  to  the  family  store  in  his  carriage,  to  select 
some  articles  which  she  needed  for  her  housekeeping. 
They  had  finished  making  their  selections,  and  were  just 
preparing  to  enter  the  carriage,  when  Amelia  came  sailing 
down  upon  them.  •  She  took  in  the  position  of  affairs  at 
once,  and  stepping  directly  between  the  Prophet  and 


HOW   MRS.    AMELIA    RULES    HER    LORD  ! 


463 


Mary,  elbowed  them  out  of  the  way,  got  into  the  carnage, 
slammed  the  door,  and  ordered  the  driver  to  carry  her 
home.  The  coachman  hesitated  a  moment,  looked  at 
Brother  Brigham,  who  never  said  a  word;  then  at  Mary, 
who  was  furious  at  the  insult,  but  showed  it  only  by  her 
flashing  eyes  and  deepening  color;  then  back  to  Amelia, 
who  scowled  at  him,  and  repeated,  "Home,  I  say,"  and 
started  off,  leaving  the  two  standing  together.  They 
walked  home,  and  Brother  Brigham  had  a  nice  time  after 
it.  Amelia  treated  him  to  a  lecture  longer  and  stronger 


AMELIA'S  DISPLAY  OF  TEMPER. 

than  usual,  not  sparing  her  rival  in  the  least,  but  calling  her 
every  sort  of  name  she  could  think  of  that  was  not  compli- 
mentary in  character,  and  threatening  her  recreant  lord  with 
all  sorts  of  torments  if  he  went  out  with  that  "  shameless 
creature  "  again  ;  while  Mary  felt  so  outraged  by  Amelia's 
act,  and  Brigham's  cowardice  in  not  resenting  it,  that  he 
was  obliged  to  use  all  his  finesse  to  appease  her  wrath. 
This  carriage  episode  reminds  me  of  something  that 


464         WHAT  THE  PROPHET'S  WIVES  ARE  LIKE. 

occurred  in  George  Q^  Cannon's  family.  This  family  is 
no  more  united  than  many  others  in  Utah,  and  they  have 
occasional  disputes  among  themselves,  which  are  not  al- 
ways settled  in  the  most  amicable  manner.  At  one  time, 
two  of  his  wives  wanted  the  carriage  at  once.  They  would 
not  use  it  together,  and  neither  one  would  give  up  to  the 
other.  In  the  struggle  to  get  possession  of  it,  a  sort  of  free 
fight  ensued.  Blows  were  exchanged,  hair  pulled,  finger- 
nails used  indiscriminately,  and  one  of  the  women  lost  off  her 
dress  in  the  contest.  I  think  that  the  "  apostolic  "  husband 
fails  to  mention  these  little  domestic  scenes  in  Washington, 
when  he  is  expatiating  there  upon  the  beauties  of  Mormon- 
ism,  and  the  peace  and  unity  of  the  people  in  the  Territory. 
I  must  say  that  such  scenes  of  violence  do  not  often  occur 
in  Brigham's  family,  as  most  of  his  wives  feel  the  dignity 
of  their  position  too  much  to  allow  the  world  to  see  any 
disagreement  between  them,  even  when  it  exists.  There  are 
some  very  fine  women  among  the  Prophet's  wives  —  women 
that,  outside  of  Mormonism,  would  grace  any  social  circle. 
Educated,  cultivated  women,  who  by  some  strange  circum- 
stance have  been  drawn,  first  into  the  church,  then  into  the 
Prophet's  harem.  I  think  nothing  better  shows  the  peculiar 
power  which  Brigham  Young  possesses,  than  a  look  at  the 
women  who  are  and  who  have  been  his  wives.  Ignorant 
as  he  is,  coarse  and  vulgar  as  he  is,  he  has  at  least  suc- 
ceeded in  winning  women  of  refinement,  of  delicate  sensi- 
bilities, as  wives ;  and  in  many  cases  it  has  been  done 
without  the  slightest  attempt  at  coercion  on  his  part.  He 
had  the  shrewdness  to  select  such  women,  and  the  power 
to  win  them,  but  he  has  not  the  ability  to  appreciate  them  ; 
and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  from  my  own  experi- 
ence with  and  knowledge  of  them,  that  more  unhappy  and 
wretched  women  do  not  exist  in  the  world,  than  the  more 
cultured  and  delicate  wives  of  Brigham  Young.  These 
women  are  rarely  his  favorites,  and  it  is  a  mystery  why  he 
took  them,  unless  it  was  that  he  might  "  add  to  his  glory ," 
and  swell  his  kingdom. 


DIVIDED    HIMSELF.  465 

I  was  always  treated  very  kindly  by  the  other  wives,,  with 
one  or  two  exceptions,  and  I  have  the  pleasantest  and  kind- 
est recollections  of  them  all.  Most  of  them  I  had  known 
from  my  childhood,  and  they  were  old  and  intimate  friends 
of  my  mother's ;  and  I  have  no  doubt,  had  they  dared  to 
have  done  so,  they  would  have  expressed  open  sympathy 
for  me  in  my  trials,  and  I  am  sure  in  their  hearts  they 
respect  me  for  the  step  I  have  taken,  and  would  like  to  find 
a  way  of  retreat  for  themselves  if  it  were  possible. 

My  husband  called  to  see  me  at  my  new  residence  when- 
ever he  could  find  opportunity,  which  was  not  very  often, 
and  he  repeated  the  drive,  which  was  no  more  comfortable 
for  him  than  the  first  one  had  been.  I  did  not  care  es- 
pecially about  it,  and  was  glad  when  I  got  home.  With 
the  exception  of  those  drives,  I  never  went  anywhere  with 
him  alone  ;  for,  with  the  exception  of  Amelia,  and  occasion- 
ally Emmeline,  —  which  occasions  constantly  grew  rarer, — 
he  never  went  with  only  one  wife,  but  took  two  or  more. 

The  first  winter  that  I  was  married  to  him,  the  Female 
Relief  Society,  to  which  I  then  belonged,  gave  a  ball,  and 
all  the  ladies  were  to  invite  the  gentlemen.  I  ventured  to 
ask  Brother  Young.  He  was  my  husband,  and  whom  else 
should  I  invite?  He  accepted  my  invitation,  apparently 
with  much  pleasure,  and  arranged  to  call  for  me  on  the 
appointed  evening  to  take  me  to  the  hall.  He  was  punctual 
to  his  appointment,  but  when  he  arrived  he  was  accom- 
panied by  another  wife.  I  suppose  he  knew  the  fact  of  his 
being  at  the  ball  would  be  reported  to  Amelia,  and  that  she 
would  be  very  angry  if  he  went  with  me  alone.  I  was  very 
much  annoyed  at  the  circumstance,  and  really  a  little  hurt 
that  he  could  not  take  me  somewhere  just  once  without 
someone  else  along.  I  said  nothing,  however,  and  was  as 
cordial  to  the  other  wife  as  I  should  have  been  had  she 
accompanied  him  at  my  express  invitation. 

I  never  learned  to  hate  anything  in  nvy  life  as  I  did  the 
word  "economy,"  while  I  was  Brigham  Young's  wife.  It 
30 


466 

was  thrown  at  me  constantly.  I  never  asked  for  the  small- 
est necessary  of  life  that  I  was  not  accused  of  extravagance 
and  a  desire  to  ruin  my  husband,  and  advised  to  be  more 
economical.  I  had  a  mind  to  reply,  several  times,  that  I 
did  not  see  how  I  could  be,  without  denying  myself  every- 
thing, and  literally  going  without  anything  to  eat  or  to 
wear.  I  held  my  tongue,  however,  and  "  possessed  my 
soul  in  patience."  I  was,  in  fact,  a  perfect  Griselda ;  and 
my  husband  had  got  so  used  to  such  unquestioning  obe- 
dience and  submission  from  me  that  I  think  he  never  was  so 
surprised  in  his  life  as  he  was  when  I  rebelled.  I  am  sure 
he  would  have  expected  rebellion  from  any  or  all  of  his 
wives  sooner  than  from  me.  And  I  am  quite  sure  that  he 
was  no  more  surprised  than  I  was. 

Before  our  marriage  he  had  professed  a  great  interest  in 
my  boys,  and  had  promised  to  do  many  things  for  them.  I 
had  counted  very  much  on  his  assistance  in  training  them, 
but  as  soon  as  I  was  really  married  to  him  he  seemed  to 
forget  all  his  promises.  He  looked  upon  my  children  as 
interlopers,  and  treated  them  as  such.  He  scolded  me  for 
spending  so  much  time  and  money  on  them ;  he  would 
allow  them  to  wear  only  clothes  of  home-spun  cloth,  and 
gave  them  each  one  hat  and  one  coarse,  heavy  pair  of  shoes 
a  year.  When  they  needed  more  I  had  to  contrive  some 
way  to  get  them  myself;  the  first  time  I  ever  asked  him  for 
shoes,  he  said,  "They  didn't  need  shoes;  children  ought 
always  to  go  barefoot ;  they  were  healthier  for  it ;  "  and  yet 
I  noticed  that  none  of  his  own  children  were  compelled  to 
do  so.  I  did  not  allow  mine  to  do  so,  either,  and  I  am  in- 
debted to  my  father  for  many  things  to  make  me  and  the 
children  comfortable,  and  the  shoes  that  Brigham  "  couldn't 
afford  "  to  buy  were  among  them.  Had  I  been  alone,  I 
probably  should  never  have  told  my  parents  of  my  po- 
sition ;  but  my  mother  was  with  me,  and  she  saw  these 
little  meannesses  of  the  Prophet  with  surprise ;  yet,  strange 
to  say,  they  did  not  shake  her  faith  in  her  religion.  She 


HE  DIDN'T  FORGET  THE  THOUSAND  DOLLARS.     467 

admitted  that  she  could  not  understand  his  behavior,  and 
yet  she  counselled  patience,  thinking  that  in  some  way 
things  would  come  right  some  time.  I  had  not  so  much 
faith  about  the  "  coming  right,"  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  but 
I  had  not  then  begun  to  doubt  my  religion.  My  father  had 
no  faith  at  all ;  for  he  remembered  the  one  thousand  dollars 
a  year,  not  a  cent  of  which  had  been  seen  at  the  end  of  my 
first  year  as  his  wife.  Yet  no  one  of  us  dared  at  that  time 
to  question  the  Prophet's  action,  although  we  were  all  in- 
dignant at  his  breach  of  faith. 

We  found  afterwards  that  the  promise  he  made  my  father 
regarding  the  "settlement"  was  the  standard  promise  which 
he  made  to  all  his  wives  before  he  married  them,  and  the 
fulfilment  was,  in  most  cases,  the  same. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE   PROPHET'S   FAMILY   CIRCLE.— HIS   WIVES   AND 
CHILDREN. 

The  Prophet  Marries  his  First  and  Legal  Wife.  —  How  she  lives,  and 
how  Brigham  has  treated  Her.  —  The  Prophet's  Eldest  Son.  —  The 
Story  of  his  Life.  —  His  Wives  and  Families.  —  Mary  and  Maggie.  — 
The  Favorite  Wife,  Clara.  —  Young  "  Briggy  "  and  his  Expectations. — 
What  the  Saints  think  of  Him.  —  His  Domestic  Joys. —  How  he  visited 
me  when  Sick,  and  Scolded  the  old  Gentleman.  —  Brigham  and  "  Briggy  " 
make  love  to  Lizzie.  —  Briggy  Wins.  —  "  John  W."  —  He  neglects  his 
"  Kingdom."  —  "  Won  by  the  Third  Wife."  —  The  Story  of  Lucy  C.  - 
The  Prophet's  Daughters.  —  Alice  and  Luna.  —  Miss  Alice's  Flirtations. 
—  Sweet  language  between  Father  and  Daughter.  —  Tragic  death  of 
Alice  Clawson. 


RIGHAM'S  very  first 
wife  is  not  living ; 
she  died  some  time 
before  he  became  a 
Mormon,  and  before 
his  marriage  to  Ma- 
ry-Ann Angell,  his 
present  legal  wife. 

He  was  quite  young 
when  he  married 
first,  and  was  a  sort 
of  preacher  among 
the  Methodists,  and 
by  preaching,  beg- 
ging, and  occasion- 
ally working  at  his 
trade  as  glazier,  or  as 
a  day-laborer  at  farming,  he  managed  to  pick  up  a  very 
scanty  living  for  himself  and  his  wife,  whose  name  was 
Miriam  Works.  My  great  grandfather,  Gilbert  Weed, 
married  them  in  Auburn,  Cayuga  County,  New  York,  near 


INSULTED  BY  HER  FATHER. 


A    RATHER    OLD    " BOY  !  "  469 

which  place  they  lived  for  some  years.  My  grandfather 
used  to  assert  that  Brigham  was  the  laziest  man  that  ever 
lived,  and  that  he  would  not  do  any  work  so  long  as  he 
could  live  without  it.  As  may  be  imagined,  his  family 
were  not  in  the  most  comfortable  circumstances  in  the 
world,  and  poor  Mrs.  Young  had  by  no  means  the  easiest 
time.  She  died  quite  early,  and  the  gossips'  verdict  was, 
"Died  of  discouragement."  She  left  two  daughters,  both 
of  whom  are  still  living,  and  both  are  in  polygamy.  Eliz- 
abeth, the  elder,  is  the  first  wife  of  Edmund  Ellsworth ; 
there  are  three  wives  besides  her.  The  second  daughter, 
Vilate,  is  the  first  wife  of  Charley  Decker,  who  has  two 
plural  wives  since  he  married  Vilate.  These  girls,  with 
their  husbands,  were  among  the  very  first  of  the  Saints  to 
arrive  in  the  Valley. 

Brigham  was  married  to  his  first  living  and  only  legal 
wife,  Mary-Ann  Angell,  in  Kirtland,  Ohio,  in  the  year 
1834.  She  is  a  native  of  New  York  State,  and  is  still  a 
pleasant,  rather  good-looking  woman,  though  much  sad- 
dened by  the  neglect  of  her  husband,  who  rar*ely,  if  ever, 
visits  her,  and  lately  by  the  tragic  death  of  her  eldest 
daughter,  and  the  still  more  recent  death  of  her  eldest  son, 
Joseph  A.  Young,  which  has  broken  her  very  much.  She 
is  about  the  age  of  her  husband,  nearly  seventy-three,  and 
consequently  is  counted  an  old  lady,  while  he  is,  according 
to  Mormon  theory,  "a:  boy."  Her  mind  is  somewhat 
clouded,  and  this,  like  her  sadness,  is  caused  by  the  decline 
of  her  husband's  affections,  of  whom  she  is  very  fond. 
She  has  been  entirely  devoted  to  him,  and  gave  him  as 
honest  love  when  she  married  him,  long  before  there  was 
the  slightest  prospect  of  his  ever  occupying  the  position  he 
holds  now,  as  she  has  ever  felt  for  him  since  his  elevation 
to  be  the  leader  of  the  Mormon  people ;  and  she  is  repaid 
as  it  might  be  expected  she  would  be,  after  listening  to  one 
of  her  husband's  sermons  to  the  women  of  his  church. 

Said  he,  on  one  occasion,  when  he  felt  called  upon  to 


470         BRIGHAM'S  OPINION  OF  THE  OLD  WOMEN  ! 

reprimand  the  complaining  sisters,  "The  old  women  come 
snivelling  around  me,  saying,  '  I  have  lived  with  my  hus- 
band thirty  years,  and  it  is  hard  to  give  him  up  now/  If 
you  have  had  your  husbands  that  length  of  time,  it  is  long 
enough,  and  you  ought  to  be  willing  to  give  them  to  other 
women,  or  give  other  women  to  them;  you  have  no  busi- 
ness with  your  husbands,  and  you  are  disobeying  God's 
commands  to  live  with  them  when  you  are  old."  He  cer- 
tainly sees  to  it  that  his  wife  does  not  "  disobey  God's  com- 
mands," which,  from  his  blasphemous  lips,  means  simply 
his  own  inclinations.  She  has  moved  about  to  suit  her 
husband's  caprice,  just  as  he  has  chosen  to  move.  They 
lived  first  of  all  in  the  old  white  house  on  the  hill,  not  very 
far  from  where  the  Prophet's  buildings  now  stand.  When 
the  Bee-Hive  was  finished  she  lived  there,  but  as  the  num- 
ber of  plural  wives  increased,  she  was  moved  back  again 
to  the  old  house,  to  make  room  in  the  other  building  for 
the  new-comers.  She  lived  there  until  quite  recently,  when 
her  husband  had  her  removed  to  the  old  school-house  be- 
hind the  Bee-Hive,  a  dilapidated,  cheerless  place,  not 
nearly  so  good  as  the  house  she  has  left.  It  is,  indeed, 
little  better  than  a  barn,  and  is  furnished  very  scantily. 
There  she  lives,  and  there  she  will  probably  remain  until 
her  death,  unless  some  of  her  children  see  that  she  is  better 
cared  for. 

She  took  no  more  kindly  to  polygamy  than  did  any  other  of 
the  Mormon  women ;  but  she  was  among  the  very  earliest 
sufferers.  I  have  known  her  all  my  life  ;  she  lived  in  the  next 
house  to  where  I  was  born,  inNauvoo,  and  I  used  to  visit  at 
her  house,  with  Alice  Clawson,  when  I  was  engaged  at  the 
Prophet's  theatre.  She  was  always  very  kind  to  me,  and  I 
have  had  for  her  a  real  regard  and  sympathy,  which  in- 
creased after  I  became  a  member  of  her  husband's  family. 
She  is  a  very  reticent  woman,  neither  invites  nor  gives  con- 
fidence, has  few  intimate  friends,  and  visits  but  little.  Her 
hair  is  iron-gray  ;  her  eyes  intensely  sad  ;  her  face  wears  an 


THE    PROPHETS    FIRST-BORN. 


471 


JOSEPH  A.  YOUNG. 


habitually  melancholy  expression,  with  a  touch  of  bitterness 
about  the  mouth ;  and  she  is  rather  tall  in  figure.  Her 
husband's  wives  regard  her  very  differently,  but  most  of 
them  treat  her  with  respect.  She  has  had  five  children  — 
Joseph  A.,  Brigham,  Jr.,  Alice,  Luna,  and  John  W. 

Joseph  A.,  commonly 
called  "Joe,"  who  died  dur- 
ing the  past  summer,  was 
well  known  throughout  the 
Territory,  and  was  by  no 
means  particularly  respect- 
ed. He  was  very  dissipa- 
ted, and  indulged  in  nearly 
every  kind  of  vice.  He  has 
been  what  is  called  a  "  fast 
young  man,"  and  was  sent 
to  Europe  on  a  mission  to 
cure  him,  if  possible,  of  his 
bad  habits  ;  but  it  scarcely  had  the  desired  effect,  for  he  came 
home  as  wild  as  ever.  He'was  in  my  father's  "  Conference  " 
in  England,  and  behaved  himself  quite  well  there,  although 
there  was  an  unpleasant  scandal  about  him  while  there,  which 
has  been  before  alluded  to.  In  business  matters  he  was  as 
shrewd  and  as  unprincipled  as  his  father,  and  managed,  with 
the  assistance  of  the  latter,  to  accumulate  a  large  amount  of 
property.  Ambitious  as  his  father  is  for  his  sons,  he  never 
dared  to  do  anything  which  should  advance  "Joe  "  in  the 
church,  for  he  knew  very  well  that  the  people  would  not 
tolerate  it  for  an  instant,  for  his  eldest  son  was  by  no  means 
a  favorite  among  the  Saints.  He,  of  course,  held  church 
offices,  but  he  would  never  have  been  any  higher  in  author- 
ity, and  certainly  would  never  have  succeeded  his  father  as 
Head  of  the  Church,  even  though  he  was  the  eldest  son. 

He  was  a  professed  polygamist,  although,  strictly  speak- 
ing, he  was  a  monogamist;  for  although  he  had  three 
wives,  he  only  lived  with  one.  His  first  wife,  Mary,  called, 


472 


"MARY  JOE"  AND  "ENGLISH  MAGGIE." 


to  distinguish  her,  "Mary  Joe,"  has  several  children,  but 
neither  she  nor  they  were  troubled  much  with  Joseph's 
attention.  She  is  an  independent,  high-spirited  woman, 
and  would  not  show  in  the  least  that  she  was  troubled  by 
his  neglect.  She  goes  about  her  business  in  a  matter-of- 
fact  way,  and  shows  that  she  is  able  to  take  care  of  herself, 
as  she  succeeded  in  making  her  husband  furnish  the  means 
to  support  herself  and  her  children,  whether  he  was  willing 
to  or  not.  She  used  to  say  that  she  could  herself  earn  a 
comfortable  living  for  them  all,  but  so  long  as  she  had  a 
husband  who  was  able  to  do  it,  she  would  not  do  it,  and 
she  did  not. 

She  is  a  decided  contrast  .to  poor  little  English  Maggie, 
his  second  wife,  who  is  in  delicate  health,  unable  to  take 

care  of  herself  and  her  child, 
and  who  is  fretting  herself 
into  her  grave  for  the  husband 
whom  she  loved  so  dearly, 
but  who  was  so  utterly  unwor- 
thy of  such  devotion.  She 
and  her  child  live  in  a  poor 
little  room,  shabbily  furnish- 
ed, and  her  husband  never 
visited  her.  She  is  allowed 
the  merest  pittance  on  which 
to  live,  but  the  sum  is  so  pit- 
ifully small  that  it  does  not 
supply  even  the  needs  of  life, 
and  the  little  woman  suffers  for  them  sometimes.  She  is 
a  patient  creature,  never  complaining  of  her  lot ;  used  never 
to  reproach  her  husband ;  just  living  on  and  bearing  her 
burdens  as  best  she  might;  hoping  for  nothing  in  this 
world,  but  trusting  that  somehow  the  things  that  are  so 
wrong  here  may  be  put  straight  hereafter. 

Dear,  patient,  gentle,  loving  "  Maggie  Joe  !  "    My  heart 
goes  out  to  her  with  a  pitying  tenderness,  and  I  only  wish 


MAGGIE  YOUNG. 
[Joseph  A.'s  Discarded  Wife.] 


CLARA  STENHOUSE  YOUNG.  473 

it  was  in  my  power  to  put  some  happiness  into  her  desolate 
life.  I  suppose  she  thinks  of  me  as  pityingly  as  I  do  of  her, 
thinking  that  my  feet  have  strayed  into  dangerous  places, 
and  that  my  soul  is  lost  for  ever  by  my  action.  She  is  one 
of  the  many  martyrs  to  polygamy  and  a  false  religion. 
The  merry-eyed,  round-faced,  gay-hearted  girl,  that  came 
among  the  Saints  so  few  years  ago,  and  was  won  by  the 
attractive  young  elder,  is  little  like  the  sad-eyed,  haggard 
woman,  the  broken-hearted,  deserted  wife.  I  wonder  if 
Joe  Young's  heart  ever  smote  him  as  he  looked  at  her,  and 
saw  the  wreck  that  he  had  made.  His  third  wife,  Thalia 
Grant,  he  neglected  so  entirely,  that  she  left  him  in  dis- 
gust. 

His  fourth  wife,  Clara  Stenhouse,  was  so  fortunate  as  to 
be  the  favorite.  He  was  devoted  to  her  exclusively,  and 
she  was  delighted  because  she  had  succeeded  in  inducing 
"Joe  "  to  renounce  polygamy  to  this  extent :  he  lived  with 
her,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  his  other  wives,  and  promised 
that  he  would  never  take  another.  He  said  that  she 
was  the  only  one  he  ever  really  loved,  although  he  had 
been  much  attracted  by  the  other  two.  Still,  her  life  with 
him  was  not  always  smooth  sailing ;  for  when  he  was  in- 
toxicated, —  which  sometimes  happened  even  to  this  son  of 
a  Prophet,  —  he  was  rather  abusive,  though  by  no  means 
so  much  to  her  as  he  was  to  the  two  others.  Once, 
however,  he  forgot  himself  so  far  as  to  chase  her  about  the 
house,  and  point  a  pistol  at  her.  She  immediately  left  him, 
and  returned  to  her  father's  house.  When  he  recovered, 
and  found  she  had  gone,  he  was  deeply  penitent,  and  he 
went  for  her  at  once.  At  first  she  refused  to  return  with 
him,  but  he  was  so  full  of  remorse,  and  begged  so  hard, 
and  promised  so  fairly,  that  she  relented  and  went.  I  think; 
he  never  repeated  the  occurrence. 

Clara  had  everything  that  she  could  desire ;  a  nice  houss 
finely  furnished,  carriage,  jewels,  elegant  clothes,  and  not 
a  wish  that  she  expressed  but  was  instantly  gratified.  A 


474 


YOUNG       BRIGGY  ! 


contrast,  indeed,  to  poor  little  Maggie,  living  in  want, 
dying  for  lack  of  care,  and  starving,  body  and  soul  alike, 
for  sufficient  food  and  for  the  love  which  another  woman 
won  from  her,  just  as  she  won  that  same  husband's  love 
from  Mary. 

Just  now  Brigham,  Jr.,  or  "  Briggy,"  as  he  is  familiarly 
termed  among  the  Saints,  is  the  most  conspicuous  member 
of  the  Prophet's  family,  as  it  is  well  known  that  Brigham 
Young  intends  that  he  shall  be  his  successor.  He  is  taken 

everywhere  by  his  father,  who 
seems  determined  that  the 
Saints  shall  not  lose  sight  of 
him  ;  and  he  already  "  assists  " 
in  different  meetings,  and  his 
weak  voice  is  often  heard 
piping  for  polygamy,  and  the 
"new  Reformation,"  and  the 
"  Order  of  Enoch,"  and  other 
of  the  elder  Brigham's  pet  in- 
stitutions. He  apes  his  father 
in  manner,  and,  as  nearly  as  he 
can,  in  matter,  and  his  parent 
is  quite  proud  of  him.  There 
was  some  murmuring  among  the  Saints  when  Brigham's 
intentions  towards  him  were  first  known  to  them,  but  they 
say  very  little  now,  but  he  and  his  father  both  know  they 
are  opposed  to  him.  I  think  there  would  have  been  open 
rebellion  if  either  of  the  other  sons,  especially  Joe,  had  been 
thought  of  as  the  future  ruler. 

"  Briggy  "  is  not  so  quick  and  bright  as  either  of  the 
others,  nor  so  well  qualified  for  taking  care  of  himself 
without  the  assistance  of  the  tithing-office  and  other  church 
perquisites ;  but  he  is  infinitely  better-hearted,  kindlier  in 
impulse,  and  is  the  most  popular  of  them,  although  that  is 
not  according  him  a  very  high  place  in  public  estimation. 
He  has  been  "on  a  mission,"  and  had  his  "little  fling"  be- 
fore he  settled  down  to  the  dignity  of  his  present  position. 


"  BRIGGY." 
[The  Prophet's  Successor.] 


SCOLDING    THE    OLD    GENTLEMAN.  475 

As  he  is  such  a  preacher  of  polygamy,  he  also  practices 
it,  and  is  the  husband  of  three  wives,  of  whom  the  third  is 
the  favorite.  Their  names  are  Kate  Spencer,  Jane  Car- 
rington,  and  Lizzie  Fenton.  He  does  not  abuse  his  wives 
as  Joseph  A.  does,  and  although  the  first  two  have  occasion 
to  complain  of  neglect,  since  he  is  completely  tied  to  Lizzie's 
side  just  now,  yet  he  does  not  allow  them  to  want,  but  sees 
that  they  have  what  they  need  to  make  life  comfortable.  I 
think  he  has  more  feeling  for  the  physical  suffering,  at  least, 
of  women,  than  his  father,  or  either  of  his  brothers  has.  I 
know  once,  while  I  was  Brigham's  wife,  when  I  was  very 
ill,  he  came  to  see  me,  and  was  shocked  at  the  condi- 
tion in  which  he  found  me.  I  had  sent  several  times  to  my 
husband,  telling  how  ill  I  was,  and  asking  for  things  which 
I  really  needed ;  and  no  attention  had  been  paid  to  my 
requests,  and  he  had  not  seen  fit  to  come  near  me.  He  re- 
sented my  illness  as  a  personal  wrong  done  to  himself;  and 
when  told  by  a  friend  of  mine,  a  little  before  this  visit  from 
Briggy,  he  had  remarked,  "That's  the  way  with  women ; 
the  minute  I  marry  'em  they  get  sick  to  shirk  work."  That 
is  the  sympathy  he  always  shows  to  a  woman  who  is  ill. 
When  "Briggy"  learned  how  I  was  neglected,  he  went  at 
once  for  his  father  on  my  behalf,  although  I  had  not  the 
slightest  idea  of  his  intention.  He  found  his  father  break- 
fasting at  the  Bee-Hive  House ;  and,  before  several  of  the 
wives,  he  burst  out, — 

"  Father,  I  think  it  is  shameful,  the  way  you  are  treating 
Ann-Eliza.  She  is  fearfully  sick,  and  if  you  don't  have 
something  done  for  her,  she'll  die  on  your  hands.  I've  been 
down  to  see  her,  and  I  know." 

The  old  gentleman  didn't  say  anything,  and  "Briggy" 
turned  on  his  heel  and  left  the  room.  That  day  I  received 
a  portion  of  the  things  for  which  I  had  sent  so  many  days 
before.  I  was  quite  at  a  loss  to  know  why  they  had  come 
so  suddenly^  and  it  remained  a  mystery  to  me  until,  some 
time  after,  Lucy  Decker  told  me  about  "  Briggy's  "  attack 


RIVAL    LOVERS.  —  BRIGHAM   AND    w  BRIGGY  !  " 

on  his  father.  She  said  that,  although  they  were  frightened 
at  the  fellow's  temerity,  they  delighted  in  his  spunk,  and  had 
liked  him  better  ever  since.  I  have  been  grateful  to  him 
ever  since  I  knew  of  that  occurrence,  and  found  that  he  had 
constituted  himself  my  champion. 

Lizzie,  Briggy's  third  wife,  is  a  native  of  Philadelphia, 
and  she  came  to  Utah  with  John  W.  and  Libbie,  Johnny's 
third  wife.  She  was  a  fine-looking  girl,  tall  and  rather 
large,  with  a  bright,  intelligent  face,  and  vivacious,  fascina- 
ting manners.  Both  old  Brigham  and  young  Brigham  were 
smitten  with  her  at  once,  and  commenced  paying  her  the 
most  marked  attentions,  and  for  a  long  time  a  fierce  rivalry 
existed  between  the  father  and  son.  Lizzie  lived  with  Mrs* 
Wilkison  before  her  marriage,  and  her  courtship  by  Brig- 
ham  and  Briggy  was  very  funny,  and  quite  exciting  to  the 
lookers-on,  who  were  anxious  to  see  whether  youth  or  ex- 
perience would  win. 

First  the  old  gentleman  would  come,  driving  down  in 
fine  style  with  his  spanking  team  ;  then  Briggy  would  come, 
rather  on  the  sly,  and  spend  the  remainder  of  the  day,  after 
his  parent  was  well  out  of  the  way.  He  always  seemed 
bent  on  having  the  last  word,  and,  finally,  he  won  the  young 
lady.  This  double  courtship  went  on  for  several  months, 
much  to  the  delight  of  the  spectators,  whose  sympathies 
were,  for  the  most  part,  with  Briggy,  and  who  were  de- 
lighted when  the  young  fellow  won. 

Lizzie  has  two  children,  and  is  the  favorite  wife ;  but  she 
is  very  unhappy,  as  I  have  often  heard  her  say.  She  has 
seen  other  "  favorite  "  wives  neglected  for  another,  and  al- 
though her  husband  certainly  has  as  yet  given  her  no  rea- 
son to  doubt  his  affection  for  and  his  fidelity  to  her,  yet 
even  he  may  be  tempted  from  her  side.  I  have  not  so  much 
sympathy  for  her,  however,  as  I  have  for  those  poor  girls 
who  are  educated  in  Mormonism,  and  know  nothing  else, 
for  she  was  an  Eastern  born  and  educated  girl,  and  entered 
polygamy  with  her  eyes  open. 


THE  PROPHET'S  APOSTATE  SON. 


477 


JOHN   W.  YOUNG. 


John  W.  is  the  third  son  and  the  youngest  child  of  Mary 
Ann  Angell.  He  is  the  best  looking  of  the  three,  has  the  best 
address,  and  has  seen  the  most  of  the  world ;  for  although 
he  has  never  been  sent  on  a  mission,  he  has  been  East  a 
great  deal,  and  has  been  more 
in  contact  with  the  outside, 
Gentile  world,  than  any  of  the 
others.  If  any  Eastern  busi- 
ness is  to  be  done,  requiring 
the  presence  of  some  person 
from  Utah,  Johnny  is  always 
the  one  to  go.  He  is  a  shrewd 
business  fellow,  with  more 
finesse  than  Joe.,  and  a  great 
deal  of  tact,  which  makes  him 
very  successful.  He  passes 
for  quite  a  good  fellow  among 
those  who  meet  him  casually, 

and  I  found  him  quite  well  known  among  the  newspaper 
fraternity  when  I  came  East.  One  reporter,  whom  I  met, 
told  me  that  John  W.  had  offered  him  money  to  keep  his 
name  before  the  public  while  he  was  here ;  and  told  the 
same  man  that  I  was  a  poor,  weak  creature  that  would 
never  amount  to  anything.  It  was,  probably,  a  desire  that 
the  "  royal  blood  of  Young  "  should  be  honored ;  and  as 
that  blood  coursed  through  his  veins,  the  honor  to  the  sire 
would  be  honor  to  the  son. 

Johnny  is  not  an  enthusiastic  Mormon,  by  any  means, 
and  I  am  quite  sure  if  he  were  anybody's  son  but  Brigham's, 
he  would  be  regarded  with  suspicion  as  an  "  apostate ;  "  but 
he  is  "President  of  the  Salt  Lake  Stake  of  Zion,"  and 
his  belief  is  never  questioned  by  his  father.  I  think  he 
holds  to  the  church  because  he  finds  it  a  good  thing ;  but 
if  Brigham  were  to  die,  and  Briggy  to  fail  in  the  succession, 
I  don't  think  he  would  stick  by  it  long.  Its  emoluments  are 
convenient;  with  its  doctrines  and  beliefs  he  has  no  sym- 
pathy ;  indeed,  I  fancy  he  is  totally  indifferent  to  them. 


478 

Like  all  the  rest,  he  has  embraced  polygamy,  but  has  been 
for  some  time  a  monogamist.  Like  the  other  two  brothers, 
also,  he  has  been  won  by  the  third  wife,  who  holds  him  entirely 
now.  He  says  openly  that  she  is  the  only  woman  that  he  ever 
loved ;  that  he  married  the  others  to  please  his  father,  who 
was  quite  anxious  for  him  to  "  build  up  a  kingdom."  He 
does  not  hesitate  to  declare  the  "  kingdom  business  a  hum- 
bug," and  prefers  the  society  of  his  third,  whom  he  now 
considers  his  only  lawful  wife,  to  that  of  either  or  both 
the  others.  The  first  wife,  Lucy  Canfield,  has  several 
children,  and  she  is  the  cousin  of  his  third  wife.  She  is  a 
spirited  woman,  like  Joseph  A.'s  first  wife,  and  when  she 
found  that  her  husband  did  not  love  her,  and  had  said  that 
he  did  not,  she  made  no  fuss  about  it,  but  quietly  took  her 
children,  went  away,  and  as  speedily  as  possible  was  di- 
vorced from  Johnny,  saying  she  would  not  be  any  man's 
wife  by  simple  toleration. 

The  second  wife,  Clara  Jones,  cries  her  eyes  out  over 
her  husband's  defection,  but  will  not  be  induced  to  leave 
him.  He  supports  her,  I  believe,  but  never  sees  her, 
and  says  he  shall  never  live  with  her  again.  She  really 
loved  the  graceless,  handsome  fellow,  and  will  be  called  by 
his  name,  and  be  his  wife,  even  if  she  cannot  have  his 
attention. 

Johnny  met  his  third  wife  in  Philadelphia,  while  on  a  visit 
there  to  his  first  wife's  relatives.  She  was  a  very  pleas- 
ing woman,  and  he  an  attractive  fellow,  and  they  fell  in 
love  with  each  other.  She  knew  very  well  his  matrimonial 
situation,  but  that  did  not  deter  her  from  accepting  his  atten- 
tions, nor  from  accompanying  him  to  Utah  under  promise 
of  becoming  his  wife  upon  their  arrival.  He  was  to  discard 
his  other  wives,  and  be  true  to  her.  She  did  not  seem  to 
think  that  she  was  betraying  her  cousin,  and  bringing 
misery  to  her ;  she  only  thought  of  herself,  and  the  gratifi- 
cation of  her  own  ambition ;  for,  apart  from  her  love  for 
Johnny,  which  I  have  no  doubt  was  genuine,  she  knew  very 


SHE  WOULDN'T  KISS! 


479 


well  that  she  should  gain  wealth,  at  least,  as  the  wife  of  one 
of  Brigham  Young's  sons.  She  and  Lizzie  Fenton  came, 
and  as  soon  as  possible  she  was  united  to  Johnny. 

It  took  the  latter  some  time  to  arrange  his  matrimonial 
affairs  successfully,  and  occasionally  a  "scene"  would 
occur  in  this  somewhat  divided  family.  She  had  been 
married  but  one  week  when  Johnny  first  met  her ;  but 
as  Gentile  marriages  are  "  null  and  void "  under  the 
Saintly  rule,  her  conversion  to  Mormonism  divorced  her 
at  once,  —  at  least  from  the  Mormon  point  of  view, 
and  rendered  her  per- 
fectly at  liberty  to  go  to 
Utah  with  Johnny,  who 
was  also,  by  the  Mor- 
mon law,  justified  in 
taking  her. 

After  they  were  mar- 
ried, Johnny  placed  her, 
for  the  time,  in  the  house 
with  his  other  wives,  and 
they  submitted  to  her 
presence  with  all  the  pa- 
tience of  good  Mormon 
women.  It  required  but 
a  very  short  time,  how- 
ever, for  them  to  dis- 
cover that  the  last  was 

LUCY  REBELLIOUS. 

the  only  wife  he  cared 

to  recognize  ;  in  fact,  he  nearly  ignored  the  existence  of  all, 
except  his  "  dear  Libbie,"  and  he  felt  it  an  imperative  duty 
to  see  that  she  was  treated  with  the  utmost  deference  by  the 
other  wives.  One  night,  as  he  and  Libbie  were  about 
withdrawing  from  the  family  circle  to  their  own  room,  he 
insisted  that  his  first  and  second  wives  should,  on  bidding 
Libbie  "  good  night,"  kiss  her.  And  when  Lucy  declined 
to  comply  with  his  request,  he  became  very  much  exas- 


480 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  A  PROPHET. 


KISSING  LIBBIE  GOOD  NIGHT. 


perated,  and  threatened  to  shut  her  up  in  some  dark  closet, 
as  is  sometimes  done  with  disobedient  children,  unless  she 

would  obey  him.  Johnny  felt 
that  he  must  not  compromise 
his  dignity  by  yielding  the 
point,  and  such  rebellion  must 
not  go  unpunished.  And,  as 
she  still  remained  obstinate,  he 
put  his  threats  into  execution. 
She  remained  in  her  prison 
until  she  feared  to  be  longer 
away  from  her  children,  and 
was  forced  to  yield  to  his 
wishes,  and  kiss  Libbie  good 
night. 

It  was   not   long   after  that 

when  Lucy  left  him,  and  sought  a  divorce,  which  Johnny's 
father  readily  granted. 

The  only  acknowledged  Mrs.  John  W.  Young  lives  in 
elegant  style,  accompanies  her  husband  on  all  his  Eastern 
trips,  and  makes  herself,  by  dress  and  otherwise,  as  attrac- 
tive as  possible  to  her  husband;  for  she  knows,  as  well  as 
the  others,  that  she  only  holds  him  so  long  as  she  shall 
prove  more  fascinating  than  any  other  woman. 

Alice  Clawson  was  the  best  known  of  any  of  Brigham's 
daughters.  She  was  the  elder  of  Mary-Ann  Angell's  girls, 
and  was  for  many  years  a  leading  actress  at  the  Salt  Lake 
theatre.  She  had  no  special  dramatic  talent,  but  she  was  a 
good  worker,  and  so  succeeded  quite  well  in  her  profession. 
Being  Brigham's  daughter  also  gave  her  a  decided  -prestige, 
and  she  never  made  her  appearance  but  what  she  was 
warmly  applauded.  She  was  quite  pretty,  being  rather 
small  and  slight,  with  blue  eyes  and  fair  hair,  and  had  all 
her  father's  ambition. 

She  was  quite  a  favorite  with  gentlemen,  and  had  several 
little  "  affairs  "  before  she  was  safely  married  to  Hiram  B. 


ALICE    AND    HER    LOVERS.  481 

Clawson,  who  was,  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  with 
him,  her  father's  confidential  clerk,  and  the  stage  man- 
ager and  "  leading  man  "  at  the  theatre  where  she  was  en- 
gaged. 

In  1851  a  Mr.  Tobin  visited  Salt  Lake,  and  fell  a  victim 
to  Miss  Alice's  charms,  and  was  engaged  to  her.  Soon 
after  their  engagement,  he  went  away,  and  did  not  return 
until  1856.  While  he  was  away  she  flirted  quite  des- 
perately with  another  young  gentleman,  and  was  reported 
engaged  to  him ;  but  her  father  sent  him  off  to  convert  the 
Sandwich  Islanders,  and  took  him  out  of  the  reach  of  Miss 
Alice's  charms. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Tobin's  return,  the  engagement  between 
them  was  broken,  and  her  father's  ire  was  so  great  against 
him  that  he  was  obliged  to  leave  Salt  Lake  City.  He  and 
his  party  were  followed,  and  while  they  were  in  camp  on 
the  Santa  Clara  River,  three  hundred  and  seventy  miles 
south  of  Salt  Lake,  they  were  attacked,  and  narrowly 
escaped  with  their  lives,  leaving  all  their  baggage  behind 
them,  and  having  six  horses  shot.  Some  of  the  party 
were  wounded,  but  fortunately  all  escaped.  I  met  Mr. 
Tobin  in  Omaha,  and  he  gave  me  an  account  of  the  whole 
affair. 

He  broke  his  engagement  because  he  was  displeased  with 
her  for  flirting.  It  was  not  long  after  this  before  she  mar- 
ried Clawson,  who  was  the  husband  of  two  wives,  but 
still  aspired  to  the  hand  of  Alice,  which  the  Prophet  was 
much  opposed  to ;  but  Alice  would  have  him  in  spite  of 
her  father.  Some  years  after  he  married  one  of  her  half- 
sisters. 

Theoretically  she  was  a  polygamist ;  practically  she  hated 
it,  and  I  know  that  her  married  life  was  very  unhappy. 
She  had  several  children,  but  was  not  called  a  very  good 
mother. 

The  circumstances  of  her  death,  which  occurred  a  few 
months  since,  are  sad  in  the  extreme. 
31 


482 


FOUND    DEAD ! 


MRS.  ALICE  YOUNG  CLAWSON. 


She  was  in  the  street,  one  day,  and  met  her  father,  who 

happened  to  be  in  one  of 
his  ill-humors,  and  was  only 
waiting  for  some  one  to  vent 
it  on.  Alice,  unluckily,  was 
the  victim.  She  was  always 
very  fond  of  dress,  and  was 
inclined  to  be  somewhat 
"loud"  in  her  style.  She 
was  dressed,  this  day,  to 
pay  some  visits,  and  was 
finer  than  usual.  Her  fa- 
ther looked  at  her  from  head 
to  foot,  then  said,  in  the  most 
contemptuous  manner  which 
he  could  assume,  — 

"Good  heavens,  Alice  !  What  are  you  rigged  out  in  that 
style  for?  You  look  like  a  prostitute." 

She  faced  him  with  an  expression  so  like  his  own  that  it 
was  absolutely  startling,  and,  with  terrible  intensity,  re- 
plied, — 

"Well,  what  else  am  I?  And  whose  teachings  have 
made  me  so?" 

She  passed  on,  leaving  him  standing  gazing  after  her 
in  surprise.  Not  long  after,  she  was  found  dead  in  her 
bed,  with  a  bottle,  labelled  "  poison,"  by  her  bedside. 
Tired  of  life,  she  had  thrown  it  carelessly  aside,  for  it  was 
of  little  worth  to  her.  Neither  husband  nor  father  was 
much  comfort  to  her,  and,  with  her  mother  before  her,  it  is 
no  wonder  that  she  did  not  wish  to  live  to  grow  old. 

It  has  been  said  that  at  one  time  she  was  greatly  in  her 
father's  confidence,  and  that  she  has  assisted  many  a  scheme 
which  served  to  enrich  her  father,  who  used  her  to  advance 
his  own  interests,  without  regard  to  her  youth  or  sex.  Of 
the  truth  of  this  I  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  as  far  as 


SELF-WILLED    LUNA.  483 

I  had  any  experience  with  her,  she  was  an  amiable,  kind- 
hearted  woman,  ambitious  and  proud,  and  a  strong  hater 
of  the  polygamic  life  which  she  was  forced  to  lead. 

Luna  Young  was  a  bright,  gay  girl,  the  pet  and  the  rul- 
ing power  of  her  mother's  house.  She  is  very  pretty,  and 
extremely  imperious.  She  is  blonde,  like  Alice,  but  by  far 
the  more  beautiful  and  self-willed.  She  has  all  her  father's 
strength  of  purpose,  and  the  two  strong  wills  used  often  to 
clash,  and  it  was  rarely  that  hers  was  subdued.  Her  fa- 
ther found  her  the  most  difficult  of  all  the  girls  to  manage, 
and  yet  he  seemed  more  fond  of  her  than  of  her  more 
yielding  and  obedient  sister. 

She  is  a  plural  wife  of  George  Thatcher,  and  endures, 
although  she  by  no  means  loves,  polygamy. 

The  children  of  Mrs.  Angell  Young  are  better  known  to 
the  world  than  any  of  the  others,  and  of  these  five,  the 
ones  that  the  public  are  most  familiar  with  are  John  W. 
and  Alice,  both  of  whom  seem  very  widely  known  by  rep- 
utation ;  John  W.  from  his  constant  contact  with  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  Alice  from  the  position  which  she  so  long  held  in 
the  theatre,  and  which  brought  her  so  constantly  before  the 
public  for  so  many  years. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


THE   WIVES   OF   THE   PROPHET.— BROTHER  BRIGHAM'S 
DOMESTIC   TROUBLES. 

The  Wives  of  the  Prophet.  —  Lucy  Decker.  —  A  Mysterious  Disappear- 
ance.—  Lucy's  Boys.  —  Brigham's  Wife  Clara.  —  Her  Busy  House- 
hold Work.  —  About  the  Girls.  —  Harriet  Cook.  —  She  Expresses  Un- 
pleasant Opinions.  —  Brigham  is  frightened  of  Her.  —  He  Keeps  out 

-of  the  Way.  —  Amelia  and  the  Sweetmeats.  —  How  one  of  Brigham's 
Daughters  scaridalized  the  Saints.  —  How  Mrs.  Twiss  Manages  the 
Prophet's  House.  —  The  Work  a  Woman  can  Do.  —  Martha  Bowker 
and  her  silent  Work.  —  Sweet  and  saintly  doings  of  the  Prophet. — 

'Concerning  Harriet  Barney.  —  The  Wife  who  "  Served  Seven  Years  " 

:for    a    Husband.  —  Another    English   Wife    of   the    Prophet.  —  The 

'"Young  Widow<of  Nauvoo." 

lUCY  DECKER  was  the 
wife  of  Isaac  Seeley, 
and  had  two  children 
before  she  became  a 
convert  to  Mormonism, 
and  removed  to  Nau- 
voo. The  husband  had 
been  esteemed  a  fine 
young  man,  and  to  all 
appearances  they  were 
living  quite  harmoni- 
ously, when  Brigham 
saw  her,  and  fell  in 
love  with  her.  He  soon 
persuaded  her  that  See- 
ley  could  never  give  her 
an  "  exaltation  "  in  the 

eternal   world;    but   that,    if   she   would    permit   him,    he 
would  secure  her  salvation,  and  make  her  a  queen  in  the 


EMMELINB  SERVING  BRIGHAM 
AND  AMELIA. 


A   MYSTERIOUS    DISAPPEARANCE.  485 

"first  resurrection."     She  was  bewildered  by  the  promises, 
and  consented  to  become  "  sealed  "  to  him  secretly. 

In  some  way  or  other,  Seeley  found  out  the  true  state  of 
affairs,  and  was  exceedingly  indignant,  and  made  some 
very  unpleasant  threats  of  vengeance  against  Brigham 
Young  for  breaking  up  his  family.  Brigham  at  once  com- 
menced endeavoring  to  turn  the  tide  of  public  opinion 
against  him,  by  resorting  to  his  always  ready  weapon,  his 
tongue,  and  insinuating  things  against  him ;  among  others, 
he  took  care  that  the  impression  should  get  abroad  that  he 
had  threatened  to  kill  his  wife.  These  reports  gained  little 
credence  among  those  who  knew  him  well ;  yet  Brigham, 
with  Joseph  to  help  him,  was  sure  to  succeed  in  his  efforts 
to  ruin  the  man,  or  to  drive  him  away,  so  that  he  should 
no  longer  stand  in  his  light,  and  Seeley  suddenly  disap- 
peared. 

All  sorts  of  rumors  were  afloat  respecting  his  disappear- 
ance ;  some  said  he  was  driven  from  Nauvoo  at  the  point 
of  the  knife ;  others  said  he  was  dead ;  others,  that  he  left 
voluntarily,  disgusted  with  the  entire  proceedings ;  at  all 
events,  he  has  never  appeared  to  interfere  with  his  wife's 
later  domestic  arrangements. 

Lucy  lives  in  the  "  Bee  Hive,"  which  is  supposed  to  be 
Brigham's  own  particular  residence,  at  least  his  private 
office  and  own  sleeping-room  are  there,  and  he  takes  his 
meals  there  except  his  dinner.  She  has  always  had  the 
charge  of  this  house,  and  has  always  been  quite  highly 
valued  by  her  husband  on  account  of  her  numerous  domes- 
tic virtues,  for  she  is  a  superior  housekeeper,  and  even 
Brigham  finds  great  difficulty  in  getting  a  good  opportunity 
to  find  fault  with  her.  It  has  been  Brigham's  custom  always 
to  keep  the  "  Bee  Hive  "  for  his  exclusive  use,  and  none  of 
his  wives  were  allowed  there,  except  Lucy  Decker,  who 
had  the  charge.  But  after  he  married  Amelia,  before  her 
house  was  finished,  he  brought  her  to  board  there  with 
him,  contrary  to  all  precedent;  and  Lucy  Decker  was  not 


486 


"  IT    SAVES    THE    WAGES  !  " 


only  obliged  to  cook  for  them,  but  to  wait  upon  them  at 
the  table,  in  the  capacity  of  a  servant,  and  Amelia  never 
recognized  her  in  any  other  way,  never  speaking  to  her  as 
an  equal,  but  ordering  her  about  at  her  caprice,  and  the 
husband  allowed  it.  But  then  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  in 
Utah  for  a  man  to  marry  a  woman  for  a  servant ;  it  is  more 
economical  than  to  hire  them.  It  saves  the  wages. 

When  Lucy  Decker's  sons,  Brigham's  children,  grew  up, 
they  accepted  mercantile  situations,  as  he  expects  all  to 
work,  which  is  certainly  all  right ;  but  they  were  not  al- 
lowed to  stay  with  their  mother  without  paying  him  the 
same  amount  for  board  that  they  would  have  to  pay  else- 
where. A  married  daughter  is  also  allowed  to  remain  with 
her  mother  under  the  same  conditions. 

She  is  a  short,  fleshy  woman,  with  a  pleasant,  small- 
featured  face,  dark  eyes  and  hair,  and  as  practical  and 
matter-of-fact  in  manner  as  you  please. 

She  has  seven  children — Brigham-Heber,  Fanny,  Ernest, 
Arthur,  Mira,  Feramorz,  and  Clara.  Fanny  is  the  plural 
wife  of  George  Thatcher,  who  also  numbers  her  half  sister, 
Luna,  among  his  wives.  Heber  and  Ernest  are  both  mar- 
ried, but  have,  as  yet,  but  one  wife  each.  They  do  not 
seem  in  a  hurry  to  add  to  their  kingdom. 

Clara  Decker  is  the  young- 
er sister  of  Lucy,  and  was 
"  sealed  "  to  Brigham  at  the 
same  time.  She  is  a  very 
intelligent,  prepossessing  wo- 
man, and  for  some  time 
was  quite  a  favorite  with  her 
husband .  Like  her  sister ,  she 
is  short  and  stout ;  but  she 
has  a  very  sweet,  benevo- 
lent face,  which  truly  mirrors 

her  character.     She  is  an  in- 

,  f   .     . . 
CLARA  DECKER.  defatigablc,  but  a  quiet  work- 


WIFELY    SORROWS    IN    THE    PROPHET'S    MANSION.       487 

er,  and  the  good  she  does,  not  only  in  the  Prophet's 
household,  but  out  of  it,  cannot  be  estimated.  In  spite  of 
her  multitudinous  home  cares,  she  finds  time  to  visit  the 
sick  and  comfort  the  afflicted,  and  there  is  no  woman  more 
universally  beloved  than  she. 

She  has  been  of  great  service  to  her  husband  in  assisting 
him  in  the  management  of  his  large  family,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  her  own  family  of  children,  she  has  the  care  of 
Margaret  Alley's.  She  has  been  as  tender  and  kind  to  them 
as  to  her  own,  and  since  their  own  mother's  sad  death  they 
have  received  an  untiring  and  affectionate  maternal  care 
from  her.  When  her  husband  has  taken  a  new  wife,  she 
has  often  been  applied  to  to  assist  him  in  preparing  the 
housekeeping  outfit,  which  she  always  does  willingly  and 
cheerfully,  never  manifesting  the  least  jealousy,  nor  making 
herself  disagreeable  in  any  way.  Her  griefs  she  keeps  to 
herself,  and  gives  a  kindly,  cheery  countenance  to  her 
family  and  the  world. 

She  has  long  since  lost  all  love  for  her  husband,  and 
although  she  retains  her  faith  in  the  underlying  principles 
of  her  religion,  is  by  no  means  so  blinded  by  bigotry  as 
not  to  see  its  faults.  She  expresses  her  opinions  rarely, 
but  when  she  does,  they  are  given  decisively,  and  her  hus- 
band is  not  at  a  loss  to  understand  her  meaning.  He  has 
a  high  regard  for  her  services,  and  I  really  believe  accords 
her  more  respect  than  he  does  most  women.  She  never 
appears  in  public  with  him,  being  always  too  much  "  en- 
gaged "  at  home. 

No  one  can  know  Clara  Decker  without  loving  her  ;  she 
has  a  nature  that  wins  affection  spontaneously,  and  that 
holds  it  after  it  is  won.  She  has  three  children,  all  girls 
—  Nettie,  Nabbie,  and  Lulu.  Nettie  is  married  to  Henry 
Snell,  and  is  the  only  wife.  Clara  and  her  children  are 
inmates  of  the  Lion  House.  She  has  more  room  than  the 
others,  as  her  family  numbers  so  many  members. 

The  third  "wife  in  plurality  "  was  Harriet  Cook,  to  whom 


488  BRIGHAM'S  TROUBLESOME  WIFE. 

the  Prophet  was  sealed  at  Nauvoo  before  the  church  left 
that  place  for  the  west.  She  was  at  that  time  rather  a 
good-looking  girl,  tall  and  fair,  with  blue  eyes,  but  with  a 
sharp  nose,  that  so  plainly  bespoke  her  disposition  that  no 
one  was  surprised  to  hear,  not  very  long  after  her  mar- 
riage, that  her  husband  had  found  he  had  "  caught  a  Tartar." 
She  was  in  my  mother's  employ  at  Nauvoo,  and  I  think 
there  is  where  the  Prophet  became  enamoured  of  her.  She 
does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  "  Mormonism,  polygamy,  and 
the  whole  of  it,  is  a  humbug,  and  may  go  to  the  devil  for 
all  her."  Her  husband  never  attempts  to  argue  any  theo- 
logical question  with  her,  but  gets  out  of  the  way  as  speedily 
as  possible,  letting  her  abuse  religion  and  him  as  much  as 
she  pleases  behind  his  back. 

Brigham,  finding  her  so  ungovernable,  and  being  quite 
unable  to  exact  submission  or  obedience  from  her,  refused 
to  live  with  her ;  and,  although  she  still  lives  at  the  "  Lion 
House  "  with  the  other  wives,  avoids  her  as  studiously  as 
possible,  and  will  not  even  notice  her,  unless  positively 
compelled  to  do  so. 

She  has  one  son,  Oscar,  whom  his  father  calls  a  repro- 
bate, and  has  entirely  disowned  ;  a  wild,  headstrong,  unruly 
fellow,  now  nearly  thirty  years  of  age.  He  speaks  of  his 
father  as  "dad,"  and  "the  old  man,"  and  openly  expresses 
his  disgust  at  his  hyprocrisy  and  meanness,  which  he  sees 
through  very  clearly.  He  is  no  more  afraid  to  speak  his 
mind  than  his  mother,  of  whose  tongue  not  only  Brigham, 
but  the  other  wives,  stand  in  dread ;  and  when  she  com- 
mences battle  they  act  on  the  principle  that  "  discretion  is 
the  better  part  of  valor,"  and  leave  the  field  to  her. 

The  son  has  been  married,  but  his  wife  has  left  him. 

A  few  years  ago  Brigham  bought  a  house  at  St.  George, 
quite  an  important  Mormon  settlement,  four  hundred  miles 
south  of  Salt  Lake  City,  intending  to  settle  some  one  of  his 
wives  there.  He  asked  me  if  I  would  go,  but  I  declined. 
He  then  proposed  to  one  or  two  others,  but  they  had  no 


THE    HOUSEKEEPER   AT    ST.    GEORGE.  489 

more  of  a  mind  to  go  than  I  had.  Lucy  Bigelow  at  last 
decided  to  try  St.  George  as  a  residence,  and  she  has  re- 
mained there  ever  since.  Lucy  was  married  to  him  when 
she  was  very  young,  and  she  has  been  one  of  the  "  Society  " 
wives  in  the  past.  She  was  exceedingly  pretty,  quite  enter- 
taining, and  a  very  graceful  dancer.  She  is  not  very  tall, 
but  has  quite  a  pretty  figure,  brown  hair,  blue  eyes,  and  an 
exceedingly  pretty  mouth. 

Her  position  as  housekeeper  at  St.  George  has  been  no 
sinecure,  for  Brigham  and  Amelia  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  passing  a  portion,  at  least,  of  the  winter  there,  and  Lucy 
Bigelow's  position  there  has  been  very  much  what  Lucy 
Decker's  was  at  the  Bee  Hive,  —  that  of  servitor,  entirely. 
When  Brigham  comes  she  receives  no  more  attention  than 
a  housekeeper  would ;  and  no  one,  ignorant  of  the  fact, 
would  ever  imagine  she  had  held  towards  him  the  position 
of  wife.  She  does  not  sit  at  the  table  with  them,  but  cooks 
for  them,  and  looks  after  their  comfort  generally. 

She  is  quite  a  prudent  housekeeper,  and  every  year  puts 
up  a  large  quantity  of  preserves,  which  Amelia  and  her 
party  being  very  fond  of,  would  speedily  put  out  of  the  way ; 
and  when  the  presidential  visits  were  ended,  poor  Lucy 
would  have  no  sweetmeats  left  for  her  own  use,  or  to  give  to 
her  friends  when  they  came  to  see  her.  On  the  occasion  of 
a  late  visit,  she  was  so  annoyed  at  her  treatment,  both  by 
Brigham  and  Amelia, — the  former  being  particularly  cap- 
tious and  insolent,  —  that  she  spoke  her  mind  with  such 
sudden  and  startling  plainness,  that  they  left  the  house  in 
a  hurry.  The  Southern  wife  is  to  be  commended  for  her 
spirit.  She  does  not  show  it  often  ;  and  probably,  had  the 
insults  come  alone  from  her  husband,  she  would  have 
borne  them  quietly,  as  she  has  done  for  nearly  thirty  years  ; 
but  she  could  not  endure  the  same  treatment  from  Amelia, 
and  she  very  justly  rebelled. 

She  has  three  daughters,  Dora,  Susan,  and  Toolie. 
Dora  is  the  only  wife  of  Morley  Dunford.  She  scanda- 


49°    THE    HOUSEKEEPER    OF   THE    PROPHET'S    MANSION. 

lized  the  Saints,  and  aroused  the  ire  of  her  father,  by  going 
quietly  off  with  her  lover  to  the  Episcopal  clergyman  to  be 
married.  According  to  Gentile  laws  she  is  legally  married, 
but  according  to  Mormon  laws  she  is  not  securely  tied. 
Still,  she  seems  satisfied.  Susie  is  married  to  Almy  Dun- 
ford,  and  is  also  an  only  wife. 

One  of  the  most  important  wives,  although  by  no  means 
the  recipient  of  any  of  her  husband's  attentions,  is  the 
housekeeper  at  the  "  Lion  House,"  Mrs.  Twiss.  She  was  a 
young  widow  living  in  Nauvoo  when  Brigham  discovered 


BEE- HIVE  HOUSE.  —  BRIGHAM  YOUNG'S  RESIDENCE. 

her,  and  recognizing  her  useful  qualities,  had  her  sealed 
to  him  as  soon  as  he  could  arrange  for  it.  She  is  not  very 
attractive  in  personal  appearance,  having  a  round  face, 
light  blue  eyes,  low  forehead,  and  sandy  hair,  which  is  in- 
clined to  curl.  In  figure  she  is  short  and  stout.  But  she 
is  an  energetic  worker,  and  as  a  servant  Brigham  values 
her. 

She  never  complains  of  her  position,  but  she  is  no  better 
content  with  it  than  any  other  neglected  wife  in  polygamy. 
She  is  kind  to  the  other  wives j  and  has  an  amiable,  quiet 


"TOO   FINE"   FOR    BRIGHAM.  49! 

disposition,  although  she  is  exceedingly  firm  and  resolute. 
She  has  no  children  of  her  own,  a  circumstance  which 
grieves  her  very  much,  but  she  has  adopted  a  son,  of  whom 
she  is  very  fond,  and  who  is  a  very  great  comfort  to  this 
childless,  unbeloved  wife. 

Martha  Bowker  is  another  of  the  Prophet's  "sickly 
wives,"  of  whom  he  is  so  fond  of  sneering;  and  the  fact 
that  she  is  an  invalid  is  sufficient  to  preclude  her  from  re- 
ceiving care  or  sympathy  from  her  husband.  He  married 
her  when  she  was  very  young,  and  never  has-  treated  her 
with  much  consideration.  Why  he  married  her,  unless  it 
was  because  he  was  anxious  to  "  build  up  his  kingdom  "  as 
quickly  as  possible,  and  so  took  every  available  woman  he 
could  find,  will  always  remain  a  mystery.  She  is  plain, 
but  very  quiet  and  sensible.  She  never  interferes  with  any- 
one, and  worships  her  husband  at  a  distance.  I  think  it 
must  be  true,  in  his  case  at  least,  that  "familiarity  breeds 
contempt,"  for  the  wives  who  have  been  the  favorites  stand 
less  in  awe  of  him,  have  less  faith  in  him,  and  are  less 
easily  deceived  by  his  pretensions  than  those  whom  he  has 
neglected,  and  who  do  not  understand  him  thoroughly. 
The  less  attention  a  wife  has  paid  her,  the  greater  is  her 
veneration  for  her  husband.  Her  respect  for  him  seems 
to  increase  in  proportion  to  the  snubs  she  receives.  Mrs. 
Bowker  Young  is  by  no  means  accomplished,  moderately 
well  educated,  and  is  by  no  means  intellectually  brilliant. 
She  says  but  little,  but  displays  considerable  hard  com- 
mon sense  when  she  does  speak.  She  is  somewhat  of  a 
nonentity  in  the  "  Lion  House,"  where  she  lives,  keeping 
very  much  to  herself,  and  not  making  her  presence  felt. 
She  has  an  adopted  daughter,  but  no  children  of  her  own. 

Among  all  the  wives  that  Brigham  claims,  there  is  none 
the  superior  of  Harriet  Barney  Young,  who,  in  spite  of  all 
her  personal  charms  and  graces  of  mind,  has  never  been  a 
favorite  with  the  Prophet.  She  is  too  good  and  noble-minded 
for  him  to  appreciate.  There  is  too  little  of  the  flatterer 


492  THE   WIFE    IN   THE    COTTAGE. 

about  her.  She  is  tall  and  stout,  but  very  graceful  in  every 
movement.  Her  eyes  are  a  clear  hazel,  with  a  soft,  sad 
expression  in  them  that  is  almost  pathetic.  Her  hair  is 
light-brown,  and  her  face  wears  a  peculiarly  mild,  .sweet 
look.  She  is  a  person  that  anyone  in  trouble  would  be 
drawn  towards,  and  would  involuntarily  rely  on  and  confide 
in.  She  is  always  ready,  with  the  tenderest  sympathy,  to 
comfort  sorrow  and  distress  ;  and  her  acts  of  kindness,  which 
are  very  numerous,  are  always  unostentatiously  performed. 
She  was  married  before  she  met  Brigham,  and  was  the 
mother  of  three  children ;  but  becoming  convinced  that 
Mormonism  was  right,  and  receiving  it,  polygamy  and  all, 
as  a  divine  religion,  given  direct  from  God,  she  considered 
it  her  duty  to  leave  her  husband,  and  cast  her  lot  with  this 
people.  She  brought  her  children  with  her,  determined  to 
bring  them  up  in  the  true  faith,  and  she  was,  in  every 
regard,  an  earnest,  conscientious,  devout  Christian,  who 
would  never  shirk  a  duty,  no  matter  how  painful  it  might 
be,  and  would  never  do  anything  which  she  considered 
wrong,  no  matter  how  much  she  might  suffer  for  her  per- 
sistence in  the  right. 

She  loves  her  husband  with  all  the  strength  of  an  earnest 
devotion,  and  his  careless  treatment  of  her  seems  to  make 
little  difference  in  the  depth  of  her  affection.  She  knows 
her  love  is  hopeless,  but  she  cherishes  it,  nevertheless,  and 
is  content  to  worship  with  no  hope  of  return.  She  is  a  de- 
vout Mormon,  and  all  she  has  seen,  heard,  and  suffered, 
has  not  shaken  her  faith  one  whit.  She  believes  that  "this 
people"  is  destined  to  come  up  "out  of  great  tribulation," 
and  she  accepts  her  own  share  without  a  murmur. 

She  formerly  lived  at  the  Lion  House  with  her  children, 
but  latterly  she  has  occupied  a  cottage  near  the  Tabernacle. 
She  likes  this  new  arrangement  infinitely  better,  as  her 
situation  in  the  large  family  was  particularly  trying.  Brig- 
ham's  own  children  have  always  been  extremely  haughty 
and  arrogant  to  those  not  of  the  "royal"  blood;  and  al- 


THE    PROPHET  S    HAREM. 


493 


though  Harriet's  children  were  good  and  amiable,  they,  as 
well  as  their  mother,  were  rendered  very  unhappy.  She 
supports  herself  and  family  now  by  sewing ;  but  is  happier 
in  this  than  in  living  in  dependence,  and  receiving  favors 
which  are  grudgingly  bestowed.  Her  husband  is  by  no 
means  a  frequent  visitor  at  her  cottage,  but  she  never  re- 
proaches him  with  neglect. 

She  has  had  one  child  since  her  marriage  to  the  Prophet, 
—  a  son,  whose  name  is  Howe. 


LION  HOUSE  AND  BRIGHAM'S  OFFICES. 

Eliza  Burgess,  the  wife  who  is  said  to  have  "served 
seven  years  "  for  her  husband,  is  an  English  woman,  a  na- 
tive of  Manchester,  and  came  to  Nauvoo  with  her  parents 
among  the  very  earliest  of  the  Mormon  emigrants.  They 
had  not  been  long  in  this  country  before  her  parents  died, 
and  she  was  left  alone.  Mrs.  Angell  Young  took  her  into 
the  family  as  a  servant,  and  she  came  to  the  Valley  with 
her.  She  was  very  attentive  and  faithful  to  the  Prophet, 
whom  she  regarded  with  the  greatest  veneration  ;  and  when 


494  SERVING    SEVEN   YEARS    FOR   A   HUSBAND. 

he,  noticing  her  devotion,  offered  to  become  her  "savior," 
and  secure  for  her  "everlasting  salvation,"  the  poor  girl  was 
completely  overcome,  and  entered  her  new  relation  with  the 
most  sacred  reverence  and  joy.  It  is  almost  painful  to  see 
the  dumb  worship  which  she  accords  to  her  master,  and  the 
cavalier  manner  in  which  it  is  received.  For  a  long  time 
she  was  an  inmate  of  the  Lion  House,  and  assisted  Mrs. 
Twiss  in  the  household  labors.  She  has  lately  been  pro- 
moted to  the  position  of  housekeeper  at  Provo,  where  the 
Prophet  has  an  establishment  for  the  convenience  of  himself 
and  his  party  when  he  is  making  a  tour  of  the  settlements. 
This  wife  is  faithful  to  all  his  interests,  and  unflagging  in 
her  zeal  to  serve  him.  The  moment  she  finds  that  she  is  in 
any  way  necessary  to  his  comfort,  she  works  with  a  new 
earnestness.  She  is  honest  and  upright,  and  is  in  every 
way  worthy  of  the  love  of  a  good  man.  Yet  she  lives  on, 
starving  for  the  love  that  is  denied  her,  and  "  wearying " 
for  a  husband  who  absents  himself  from  her  for  a  year 
at  a  time. 

She  has  one  son,  Alphilus,  a  bright  young  fellow,  who 
is  at  present  a  student  in  the  law-school  of  the  Michigan 
University. 

Besides  Eliza  Burgess,  the  English  wife,  Brigham  has  but 
one  other  who  is  not  American.  This  is  Susan  Snively,  who 
is  a  German,  and  who  has  been  one  of  his  useful  wives. 
She  is  a  woman  now  considerably  past  middle  age,  and 
carries  her  nationality  very  decidedly  in  her  face.  She  is 
of  medium  size,  has  dark  hair,  bright  eyes,  dark  complex- 
ion, and  a  stolid,  expressionless  face.  She  is  decidedly 
the  plainest  of  the  wives,  and  one  of  the  most  capable.  Her 
nature  is  kindly,  and  she  is  a  genuinely  good  woman,  quiet 
and  unassuming.  She  is  not  the  slightest  bit  assertive,  a*nd 
would  remain  in  a  corner  unnoticed  all  her  life,  unless  some 
one  discovered  her  and  brought  her  out.  In  her  busy  days, 
she  was  a  good  housewife,  —  could  spin,  dye,  weave,  and 
knit,  and  make  excellent  butter  and  cheese. 


THE    PROPHET  S    GERMAN    WIFE.  495 

She  was  married  to  Brigham  in  the  early  days  of  poly- 
gamy, when  she  was  a  young  girl ;  indeed,  most  of  his 
wives  were  taken  between  1842  and  1847,  and  she  has 
proved  herself  a  good  wife  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  She 
has  lived  at  the  farm  a  great  deal ;  for  eight  years  she  was 
sole  mistress  there,  and  a  harder  worker  never  lived.  She 
paid  special  attention  to  the  dairy,  making  all  the  butter  and 
cheese  for  the  entire  family.  She  has  done  a  great  deal  for 
all  the  wives  and  children,  and  they  have  not  hesitated  to 
call  on  her  for  services,  so  cordially  and  freely  has  she 
given  them.  The  farm  was  very  large,  and  required  many 
laborers,  and  these  all  boarded  at  the  farm-house,  and 
Susan  had  them  to  look  after,  which  she  did  faithfully. 
Everything  that  she  did  was  done  to  promote,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  interests  of  the  Prophet  and  his  family. 

At  last,  under  such  a  constant  strain  of  incessant  labor, 
she  broke  down  completely,  unable  any  longer  to  endure 
the  strain.  Her  strength  failed;  her  health  was  destroyed; 
her  once  strong  constitution  undermined,  and  she  was  forced 
to  seek  refuge  in  the  "  Lion  House,"  and  take  her  chances 
with  the  numerous  family.  After  she  had  given  all  her 
strength,  and  the  best  part  of  her  life,  to  the  service  of  her 
"  master,"  she  was  of  no  more  use  to  him,  and  she  might 
live  or  die,  as  she  saw  fit.  It  mattered  nothing  to  him.  She 
said  once  to  me,  "  How  I  should  like  a  drive  !  and  how  much 
good  it  would  do  me  !  We  have  plenty  of  carriages,  to  be 
sure,  yet  I  am  never  allowed  to  ride."  Tears  trembled  in 
her  eyes,  and  her  voice  shook  as  she  made  her  complaint ; 
and  I  wished  it  were  in  my  power  to  gratify  her.  I  did  pity 
her  lonely  and  neglected  condition  with  all  my  heart. 

Her  only  earthly  comfort  is  an  adopted  daughter,  whom 
she  dearly  loves.  She  never  had  any  children  of  her  own, 
and  she  lavishes  all  her  maternal  affection  on  this  attractive 
young  girl,  who  returns  her  love,  and  calls  her  "mother." 

She  still  clings  to  her  religious  faith  with  a  sort  of  hope- 
less despair.  If  that  should  fail  her,  she  would  be  desolate 


496  YOUNG  WIDOWS  IN  NAUVOO. 

indeed.     She  suffers  in  the  present,  hoping  for  a  recompense 
in  the  future. 

Young  widows  seemed  to  have  abounded  in  Nauvoo, 
judging  from  the  number  that  have  been  "  sealed  "  to  the 
Prophet  and  his  followers.  So  many  men  died  in  defence 
of  the  church,  that  the  wives  must,  of  necessity,  fall  to  some- 
one's care,  and  the  protectors  were  easily  found.  Margaret 
Peirce  was  another  of  Brigham's  fancies,  and  was  sealed  to 
him  soon  after  the  death  of  her  husband.  Her  health  has 
been  very  delicate  for  some  years  ;  consequently  she  is  not  in 
favor  with  her  husband.  She  has  one  son,  Morris,  whom 
she  absolutely  worships.  He  is  now  about  twenty  years 
old,  but  he  is  still  her  baby. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  PROPHET'S  FAVORITE  WIFE.  — HOW  HE  CONDUCT- 
ED HIS  LOVE-AFFAIRS. 

The  Prophet's  Favorite  Wife,  Amelia.  —  How  Brigham  made  Love  in  the 
Name  of  the  Lord.  —  How  he  won  an  Unwilling  Bride.  —  A  Lady  with 
a  Sweet  Temper.  —  How  she  Kicked  a  Sewing-Machine  down  the 
Prophet's  Stairs.  —  She  has  a  new  House  built  for  Her.  —  Rather  Ex- 
pensive Habits,  -r  Her  Pleasant  chances  for  the  Future.  —  Mary  Van 
Cott  Cobb.  —  A  Former  Love  of  the  Prophet's.  —  Miss  Eliza-Roxy 
Snow.  —  The  Mormon  Poetess.  —  Joseph  Smith's  Poetic  Widow.  — 
Versification  of  the  Saints.  —  Mrs.  Augusta  Cobb.  —  Emily  Partridge. 


HE  favorite  wife  of  the 
Prophet,  Amelia  Fol- 
som,  is  a  woman  about 
forty  years  of  age,  and 
was  a  New  England 
girl. 

She  was  born  at  Ports- 
mouth,New  Hampshire, 
and    with  her  parents, 
who   were    converts   to 
Mormonism,  came  to  Utah.     She  is  tall, 
of  a  good  figure,  has  rather  regular  fea- 
tures, brown  hair,  bluish-gray  eyes,  and 
a  querulous,  discontented  expression,  with 
a  very  great   deal  of  decision  indicated 
by  the  mouth.     And,  indeed,  in  spite  of 

BR.GHAM  LOOKS  AMAZED.    ^    that    Jg    lavjshed  Upon    her,   she    is    not 

happy.     She  did  not  wish  to  marry  Brigham,  as  she  had  a 
lover  to  whom  she  was  fondly  attached ;  but  he  wished  to 
32 


498  MAKING    LOVE    IN    THE    NAME    OF    THE    LORD. 

marry  her,  and  that  settled  her  fate.  Her  parents  favored 
his  suit,  and  urged  it  strongly  ;  but  she  was  bitterly  opposed 
to  it,  and  it  was  months  before  she  would  yield  to  their 
united  desires. 

He  was  a  most  arduous  and  enthusiastic  lover,  and  dur- 
ing all  the  time  that  his  suit  was  in  progress,  his  carriage 
might  be  seen  standing  before  the  door  of  her  parents' 
house  several  hours  at  a  time  every  day.  He  evidently  did 
not  intend  that  absence  should  render  her  forgetful  of  him. 
He  promised  her  anything  that  she  might  desire,  and  also 
agreed  to  do  everything  to  advance  the  family  interests. 
Promises  had  no  weight  with  her.  He  then  had  recourse 
to  "  Revelation  ;  "  he  had  been  specially  told  from  heaven 
that  she  was  created  especially  for  him,  and  if  she  married 

anyone  else  she  would  be 
for  ever  damned.  The  poor 
girl  begged,  pleaded,  protest- 
ed, and  shed  most  bitter  tears, 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  His  mind 
was  made  up,  and  he  would 
not  allow  his  will  to  be  crossed. 
She  had  been  converted  to 
believe  in  special  revelation, 
and  to  look  upon  Brigham  as 
the  savior  of  all  the  Mormon 

AMELIA  Fouou.  people,  and  to  think  that  diso- 

Favorite  wife.]  bedience  to  him  was  disobedi- 

ence  to  God,  since  God's  commands  came  through  him. 
In  answer  to  her  pleading,  he  said,  "Amelia,  you  must  be 
my  wife;  God  has  revealed  it  to  me.  You  cannot  be 
saved  by  anyone  else.  If  you  marry  me,  I  will  save  you, 
and  exalt  you  to  be  a  queen  in  the  celestial  world ;  but  if 
you  refuse,  you  will  be  destroyed,  both  soul  and  body." 

This  is  the  same  argument  he  used  to  win  me,  and  the 
one  he  has  always  in  reserve,  as  the  last  resort,  when 
everything  else  fails  to  secure  his  victim. 


•   Jfr, 


AMELIA    DEMOLISHES    A    SEWING-MACHINE.  499 

Of  course  she  yielded  ;  what  else  was  she  to  do  ?  It  was 
a  foregone  conclusion  when  the  courtship  commenced. 
She  was  married  to  him  the  23d  of  January,  1863,  more 
than  six  months  after  the  anti-polygamy  law  had  been 
passed  by  Congress,  and  the  marriage  was  celebrated 
openly,  and  in  defiance  of  the  law. 

Since  the  marriage,  Amelia  has  ruled  with  a  hand  of 
iron,  and  she  has  her  lord  in  pretty  good  subjection.  She 
has  a  terrible  temper,  and  he  has  the  benefit  of  it.  On  one 
occasion  he  sent  her  a  sewing-machine,  thinking  to  please 
her ;  it  did  not  happen  to  be  the  kind  of  a  one  which  she 
wanted;  so  she  kicked  it  down  stairs,  saying,  "What  did 
you  get  this  old  thing  for?  You  knew  I  wanted  a  '  Singer.' " 

She  had  a  Singer  at  once. 

I  was  once  present  when  she  wanted  her  husband  to  do 
something  for  her ;  he  objected,  and  she  repeated  her  de- 
mand, threatening  to  "thrash  him,"  if  he  did  not  comply. 
It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  to  say  that  she  was  not  obliged 
to  ask  him  again.  I  know  he  is  afraid  of  her,  and  that  she 
holds  him  now  through  fear,  rather  than  love.  She  accom- 
panies him  to  the  theatre,  and  occupies  the  box,  while  the 
rest  of  the  wives  sit  in  the  parquet.  She  goes  with  him 
on  his  visits  to  the  settlements,  and  drives  out  with  him 
constantly. 

She  has  a  beautiful  new  house,  elegantly  furnished,  and 
Brigham  has  very  nearly  deserted  the  "Bee-Hive,"  except 
during  business  hours,  and  spends  most  of  his  time  at 
Amelia's  residence.  She  dresses  elegantly,  has  jewels  and 
laces,  and  has  saved  ten  thousand  dollars  out  of  her  "  pin- 
money,"  which  she  placed  in  bank.  I  am  delighted  at  her 
success  in  getting  so  much  ;  the  other  wives  have  succeeded 
in  getting  nothing  but  their  living  from  him,  some  scarcely 
that;  and  I,  for  my  part,  congratulate  Amelia  on  her  good 
management.  It  was  a  hard  struggle  for  her  to  marry 
him,  and  all  she  gets  will  never  half  repay  her  for  the  suf- 
fering she  has  endured  in  the  past,  even  if  she  has  grown 
contented  now. 


She  is  rather  careless  in  her  treatment  of  the  other  wives, 
but  gets  along  the  best  with  the  "  proxies."  When  she 
lived  at  the  "  Bee  Hive,"  she  dined  at  the  "Lion  House," 
with  her  husband  and  the  other  wives.  She  and  Brigham 
sat  at  a  table  by  themselves  —  a  small  table,  standing  at 
the  head  of  the  dining-room.  The  other  wives,  with  their 
children,  sat  at  a  long  table,  running  nearly  the  entire 
length  of  the  room.  The  fare  at  this  table  was  very  plain, 
while  the  other  was  loaded  with  every  delicacy  that  the 
season  would  afford.  When  strangers  dined  with  Brigham, 
the  difference  in  the  fare  was  less  noticeable,  and  the  long 
table  would  be  amply  provided  for,  so  as  to  make  a  good 
impression  upon  the  visitor.  Amelia  is  not  well ;  indeed, 
she  is  at  times  quite  an  invalid.  She  has  no  children. 

About  six  months  before  my  marriage  to  the  Prophet,  he 
took  a  pretty  young  widow,  Mary  Van  Cott,  for  a  wife, 
much  to  Amelia's  distress,  who  had  considered  herself  the 
last  for  so  long,  that  she  was  quite  unprepared  for  the  intro- 
duction of  a  rival.  She  was  very  bitter  in  her  denunciations 
both  of  Brigham  and  Mary,  and  commenced  at  once  to 
make  friends  with  some  of  the  other  wives.  She  said  to 
Aunt  Zina,  I  believe,  that  she  knew  now  how  Emmeline  felt 
when  Brigham  took  her.  Emmeline  had  been  the  favorite 
wife  for  years,  and  was  really  fond  of  her  husband,  and  it 
was  a  terrible  blow  to  her  when  he  deserted  her  for  another. 

For  some  time  Brigham's  fickle  affections  hovered  about 
Mary,  but  Amelia,  with  a  determination  which  but  few 
Mormon  women  possess,  fought  against  her  rival  until  she 
compelled  "her  lord  to  withdraw  his  attentions  from  the  new 
wife,  or  to  bestow  them  on  the  sly.  Mary  felt  very  much 
hurt  and  aggrieved,  but  she  has  managed  to  hold  her  own 
sufficiently  to  get  a  very  pretty  cottage  house,  which  is  very 
daintily  furnished,  and  which  she  makes  very  attractive. 

She  has  two  children,  one  by  a  former  husband;  the 
other,  a  pretty  little  girl,  three  or  four  years  old,  the 
youngest  of  Brigham's  children,  and  who  is  always  called 


BRIGHAM'S  LAST  BABY  ! 


"Baby."  After  I  left  it  was  said  she  very  nearly  de- 
cided to  take  the  same  step.  She  was  very  discontented, 
and  the  treatment  she  received  from  the  Prophet  and  his 
family  was  not  such  as  to  encourage  her  to  stay  with  him. 
Her  own  people,  who  are  devout  Mormons,  became  aware 
of  her  intention,  and  finally  succeeded,  by  a  great  amount 
of  persuasion,  in  inducing  her  to  try  a  little  longer.  Brig- 
ham,  too,  found  out  what  step  she  was  contemplating,  and 
knowing  that  opinion  would  set  strongly  against  him  if  two 
of  his  wives  should  leave  him  so  nearly  at  the  same  time, 
added  his  arguments  to  theirs,  and  also  agreed  to  fix  her 
house,  and  give  her  more  things,  among  which  was  a  grand 
piano,  if  she  would  not  bring  another  scandal  upon  him. 
For  the  sake  of  her  child  she  decided  to  remain,  but  she  is 
in  a  state  of  mental  rebellion,  which  may  break  out  at  any 
time.  She  is,  since  my  defection,  the  last  added  member 
of  the  family. 

Miss  Eliza  R.  Snow  is  the  first  of  Brigham's  w  proxy " 
wives,  and  is  the  most  noted  of  all  Mormon  women.  She 
was  one  of  Joseph  Smith's 
wives,  and,  after  his  death, 
was  sealed  to  Brigham  for 
time,  but  is  to  return  to  Jo- 
seph in  eternity.  She  was 
the  founder  of  the  w  Female 
Relief  Society,"  is  the  mo- 
tive power  of  the  w  Woman's  . 
Exponent,"  although  Miss  *<|;J 
Green  acts  as  editor,  per- 
sonates "  Eve  "  in  the  "  En-  W] 
dowments,"  and  is  a  poetess 
of  no  inconsiderable  merit. 
She  writes  hymns  for  all 
occasions,  and  most  of  her  poems  are  full  of  a  strong  reli- 
gious fervor.  She  is  a  thorough  Mormon,  and  believes 
absolutely  every  portion  of  the  doctrine,  and  might  con- 


Miss  ELIZA  R.  SNOW. 
[Mormon  Poetess.] 


502 


tend  with  Orson  Pratt  for  the  title  of  "  Defender  of  Poly- 
gamy." 

Brigham  regards  her  very  highly,  because  she  is  of  such 
inestimable  service  in  the  church.  She  lives  at  the  "Lion 
House,"  where  she  has  quite  a  pleasant  room,  in  which  she 
receives  most  of  her  company.  She  is  the  most  intellectual 
of  all  the  wives. 

Zina  D.  Huntington 
was  formerly  the  wife 
of  a  man  named  Henry 
Jacobs,  who  was  at  one 
time  a  Mormon.  Brig- 
ham  was  attracted 
towards  the  wife,  sent 
the  husband  off  on  a 
mission,  and  had  Zina 
sealed  to  him.  Dr. 
Jacobs  apostatized,  not 
at  all  fancying  this  ap- 
propriation of  his  fam- 
ily. She  is  a  very  no- 
ble woman,  and  has 

ZINA  D.  HUNTINGTON.  .     ,  ••./-        .         .1 

[Wife  of  Brigham.]  spent  her  life  in  the 

service  of  her  ungrate- 
ful husband  and  the  church.  She  is  firm  and  unyielding 
in  her  religious  faith,  and  as  devout  a  believer  in  Mormon- 
ism  to-day  as  she  was  at  her  first  conversion.  She  has 
been  very  useful  in  the  family,  acting  as  physician,  nurse, 
and  governess,  as  her  services  have  been  required.  She  is 
perfectly  unselfish,  and  her  whole  life  is  devoted  to  others. 

She  is  a  large,  fine-looking  woman,  with  a  somewhat 
weary  and  sad  expression,  but  her  face  still  shows  signs  of 
mental  strength  and  superiority. 

She  has  one  daughter,  Zina,  who  was  formerly  an  actress 
in  the  theatre,  and  has  since  married  an  Englishman  of  the 
name  of  Thomas  Williams.  She  was  his  second  wife,  and 


503 

her  introduction  to  the  family  was  strongly  resented  by  the 
first  wife,  who  would  never  notice  her  in  any  way.  They 
lived  apart,  and  the  husband  divided  his  time  equally  be- 
tween the  two.  A  few  months  ago  he  died  very  suddenly 
at  Zina's,  while  sitting  at  the  table.  When  the  news  was 
conveyed  to  the  first  wife,  she  had  the  'remains  brought  to 
her,  arranged  for  the  funeral  without  consulting  Zina,  and 
refused  to  allow  her  to  ride  in  the  carriage  with  her  to  the 
burial.  Poor  Zina  was  almost  heart-broken,  for  she  dearly 
loved  the  man  whom  her  fa- 
ther's religion  taught  her  to 
call  husband,  and  she  was 
ready  to  do  anything  to  con- 
ciliate the  first  wife.  She  is 
a  noble  girl,  and  as  conscien- 
tious as  her  mother.  Not  very 
long  before  I  left  her  father, 
we  were  talking  about  the 
practice  of  polygamy.  I  ex- 
pressed myself  strongly  and 
bitterly  against  it.  She,  in 
turn,  defended  it.  She  knew, 
she  said,  that  it  brought  great 
unhappiness,  but  that  was  because  it  was  not  rightly  lived. 
The  theory  wras  correct,  but  people  did  not  enter  it  in  the 
right  spirit.  She  has  certainly  suffered  from  it  since  then, 
although  I  believe  she  tried,  to  the  best  of  her  ability,  to 
"live  it  right."  But  she,  no  more  than  any  one  else,  could 
make  right  out  of  wrong. 

When  Mr.  Williams  asked  her  in  marriage,  Brigham 
said  he  might  have  her  if  he'd  "  take  the  mother  too."  So 
Zina,  the  mother,  went  to  live  with  Zina,  the  daughter. 
But  Brigham  grew  ashamed  of  his  meanness  toward  her, 
and  finally  gave  her  a  house  and  lot. 

Years  ago,  when  Brigham  was  on  a  mission  to  New 
England,  he  met  a  very  charming  lady  in  Boston,  Mrs. 


504  ASKING   TO   BE   SEALED   TO   CHRIST. 

Augusta  Cobb,  and  at  once  his  elastic  fancy  was  charmed 
for  a  while.  She  was  a  woman  of  fine  social  position,  cul- 
tured and  elegant,  the  head  of  a  lovely  establishment,  with 
a  kind  husband,  and  a  family  of  interesting  children ;  but 
she  became  enamored  of  the  Prophet,  accepted  the  Mormon 
religion,  and  came  to  Nauvoo  with  him,  where  she  was 
sealed  as  his  wife.  She  is  still  a  very  stylish,  elegant 
woman  for  her  age,  but  for  several  years  past  she  has  been 
grossly  neglected  by  the  Prophet.  Her  religious  enthusi- 
asm has  increased  until  it  is  almost  mania,  and,  finding 
that  her  husband  was  wearying  of  her,  and  seeking  new 
faces,  she  begged  to  be  released  from  him  for  eternity,  and 
be  sealed  to  Jesus  Christ,  who,  her  church  told  her,  was  a 
polygamist. 

Brigham,  with  all  his  blasphemous  audacity,  dared  not 
do  that ;  so  he  quieted  her  by  telling  her  that  he  was  not  at 
liberty  to  do  that  —  his  authority  did  not  extend  so  far ;  but 
he  would  do  the  next  best  thing,  and  seal  her  to  Joseph 
Smith.  She  consented,  and  now  belongs  to  Brigham  only 
for  time,  "  having  been  transferred  to  Joseph  for  eternity." 

Her  family  still  remember  her  fondly,  and  grieve  over 
her  delusion.  One  of  her  relatives — a  granddaughter,  I 
think  —  sent  word  to  me,  a  short  time  since,  that  she  wished 
to  see  me,  to  ask  about  Mrs.  Cobb,  for  it  had  been  a  long 
time  since  they  had  heard  from  her  directly,  and  it  would 
be  such  a  comfort  to  meet  one  who  had  seen  her  so  recently. 
I  have  not  yet  met  the  lady,  but  shall  take  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  see  her,  though  I  can,  I  fear,  tell  her  little  that 
will  satisfy  her. 

Another  proxy  wife,  Emily  Partridge,  was  a  young, 
childless  widow,  very  patient  and  gentle,  and  very  pretty, 
too.  She  belonged  to  Joseph  Smith,  and  was  among  those 
whom  Brigham  took.  For  some  time  she  lived  at  the  farm, 
but  not  understanding  dairy  work,  she  did  not  suit  her  hus- 
band. She  is  willing  to  work,  and  do  whatever  she  can 
do,  but  is  no  more  able  than  the  rest  of  the  world  to  accom- 


SHE  COULD  ONLY  SUBMIT.  505 

plish  impossibilities.  He  was  so  angry  at  her  want  of  suc- 
cess at  the  farm,  that  he  said,  in  speaking  of  her,  "When  I 
take  another  man's  wife  and  children  to  support,  I  think 
the  least  they  could  do  would  be  to  try  and  help  a  little." 
To  be  sure,  he  is  the  earthly  father  of  those  children,  but 
he  makes  a  decided  distinction  between  them  and  those  he 
calls  his  own.  There  are  five  children,  —  Emily,  Carlie, 
Don  Carlos,  Mary,  and  Josephine.  Emily  is  plural  wife  of 
Hiram  B.  Clawson,  her  half-sister  Alice's  husband ;  Carlie 
and  Mary  were  both  married  to  Mark  Croxall,  the  Western 
Union  telegraph  operator.  He  was  very  fond  of  Mary, 
who  has  since  died.  Carlie  he  treats  with  the  utmost  indif- 
ference, and  neglects  her  openly.  A  while  ago  he  became 
very  much  enamored  of  a  Danish  girl,  and  would  allow 
Carlie  to  go  home  alone  from  the  theatre  or  other  place  of 
amusement,  while  he  went  off  with  this  girl,  who  was  Car- 
lie's  inferior  in  every  way.  The  poor  girl  is  heart-broken 
at  this  careless  treatment,  but  what  can  she  do?  There  is 
nothing  for  any  Mormon  woman  to  do  but  to  submit,  and 
let  her  heart  break  in  the  mean  while.  The  sooner  it  is 
over,  and  she  is  out  of  her  misery,  the  better.  Very  few 
care  how  soon  they  die.  Life  is  not  pleasant  enough  to  be 
clung  to  very  tenaciously. 

Emily  Partridge  lived  at  the  w  Lion  House "  for  several 
years,  enduring  every  indignity  at  the  hands  of  the  family. 
Now  she  has  a  cottage  outside,  which  Brigham  gave  her, 
telling  her,  when  she  moved  into  it,  that  he  should  in  future 
expect  her  to  support  herself  and  children. 

This  woman  ends  the  list  of  Brigham's  living  wives,  but 
some  that  have  died  have  had  such  a  career,  and  been  so 
well  known,  that  I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  them. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


THE  DEAD  WIVES  OF  THE  PROPHET.  — HE  NEVER 
WAS  KNOWN  TO  SHED  A  TEAR. 

The  Discarded  Favorite.  —  The  Story  of  Emmeline  Free.  —  A  Stupen- 
dous Humbug.  —  A  "Free"  Opinion  of  Mormonism.  —  Amelia  comes 
upon  the  Scene.  —  How  Brigham  Insulted  Emmeline  Free.  —  Brigham 
is  Ashamed  of  his  Cowardice.  —  I  tell  him  a  little  of  my  Mind.  — 
Joseph  A.  expresses  his  Opinion.  —  Apologizes  for  his  Father. — 
Death  of  Emmeline  Free.  —  The  Story  of  Clara  Chase.  —  The  Proph- 
et's Maniac  Wife.  —  Ellen  Rockwood,  and  the  Cause  of  her  Neglect.  — 
A  Wife  who  was  visited  once  in  Six  Months.  —  Margaret  Alley.  — 
How  the  Prophet  treated  his  Dead  Wife.  —  He  steals  her  Children's 
Property.  —  How  he  Scandalized  another  Wife,  and  sent  her  Home. — 
He  "  Never  shed  a  tear  at  a  Wife's  Death. 


A  LITTLE  CONVERSATION  WITH  BRIGHAM. 


ed    reverence    for   him ;    and  the 


OR  many  years  the  fa- 
vored wife,  the  one  who 
ruled  over  her  husband, 
and  reigned  in  the  fami- 
ly, was  Emmeline  Free. 
The  Prophet  married 
her  when  she  was  quite 
young,  having  first  to 
overrule  the  objections 
of  her  parents,  who,  al- 
though Mormons,  were 
much  opposed  to  poly- 
gamy. She  was  a  will- 
ing convert,  for  she  had 
been  taught  that  Brig- 
ham  Young  was  a  near 
approach  to  divinity, 
and  she  had  unbound- 
child,  —  for  she  was 


A  WOMAN'S  OPINION  OF  MORMONISM.  507 

little  more  than  that,  —  was  flattered  and  delighted  at  the 
Prophet's  wish  to  have  her  for  a  wife. 

Those  who  knew  her  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  say 
that  she  was  an  extremely  lovely  girl,  and  I  can  well 
believe  it,  for  she  was  a  very  prepossessing  woman.  She 
was  tall  and  graceful,  with  brown  eyes,  and  fair  hair  that 
waved  naturally.  Her  face  was  pleasant  in  expression 
and  very  bright,  until  it  became  saddened  by  her  husband's 
desertion  of  her  for  Amelia. 

I  used  to  see  a  great  deal  of  her.  I  visited  at  her  house 
when  I  was  a  girl,  was  intimate  with  her  children,  and  saw 
more  of  her  while  I  was  a  member  of  the  family  than  of 
any  other.  In  virtue,  I  suppose,  of  her  former  position, 
Brigham  never  neglected  her  as  he  did  some  of  his  other 
wives,  and  she  always  retained  a  certain  influence  over 
him.  She  was  not  afraid  of  him,  and  had  long  since 
ceased  to  regard  him  with  awe.  I  once  entered  the  Proph- 
et's office  when  she  was  there ;  she  was  talking  quite 
earnestly,  and  did  not  stop  on  my  entrance  ;  she  concluded 
her  conversation  by  saying,  — 

"Well,  I've  lost  faith  in  the  whole  thing.  I  consider 
Mormonism  a  stupendous  humbug,  and  all  the  people  who 
have  been  made  to  believe  in  it,  terrible  dupes.  I've  no 
patience  with  it  any  longer." 

Her  husband  —  "  our  "  husband  at  the  time  —  laughed  as 
though  he  considered  it  a  good  joke,  and  turned  the  con- 
versation, making  it  general,  so  that  it  included  me.  I 
think  he  did  not  wish  such  "heresy"  talked  before  his 
young  wives,  lest  it  should  engender  discontent  in  their 
hearts.  He  needn't  have  been  troubled  about  me,  for  the 
mischief  was  already  done.  I  had  begun  to  think  things 
out  for  myself,  and  I  had  arrived  very  much  at  the  same 
conclusion  that  Emmeline  had,  although  I  had  not  dared 
to  express  my  opinion  to  any  one. 

Once  during  my  married  life  with  him,  Brigham  invited 
Emmeline  and  myself  to  go  with  him  to  Brigham  City, 


508  HOW    BRIGHAM    DECEIVED    EMMELINE. 

where  he  was  to  hold  a  conference  meeting.  There  was 
a  large  party,  and  we  went  with  the  usual  pomp  which 
attends  such  occasions.  I  enjoyed  it  better  than  I  did  most 
of  the  excursions  I  took  with  him,  because  I  was  very  fond 
of  Emmeline,  and  preferred  to  have  her  rather  than  any 
of  the  other  wives.  I  think  she  felt  the  same  way  toward 
me,  because' she  knew  that  I  was  her  champion  ;  moreover, 
she  was  quite  aware  of  my  feeling  toward  "  our  "  husband, 
and  the  difficulty  he  had  had  in  inducing  me  to  become  his 
wife,  and  she  did  not  consider  me  in  any  degree  her  rival. 
We  arrived  one  afternoon,  and  everything  was  most 
amicable.  He  was  unremitting  in  his  attentions  to  Emme- 
line, and  I  was  very  happy  to  see  her  happy,  and  enjoyed 
myself  very  much  with  some  of  the  younger  members  of 
the  family.  In  the  evening  he  told  Emmeline  that  he 
should  expect  her  to  accompany  him  to  church  the  next 
day. 

The  next  morning  he  arose  very  early,  and  drove  away 
in  a  buggy  alone ;  in  a  little  while  he  returned  with  Ame- 
lia, breakfasted  with  her,  and  started  away  again.  In  the 
meantime  Emmeline,  who  had  not  heard  of  Amelia's 
arrival,  was  preparing  to  accompany  her  husband  to 
church ;  she  dressed  with  unusual  care,  and  made  herself 
look  very  pretty.  She  waited  impatiently,  but  he  did  not 
come.  I  knew  of  the  arrival,  and  when  I  went  up  stairs 
and  saw  Emmeline  waiting  with  her  bonnet  on,  I  asked 
her  if  she  was  not  going  to  start  soon,  as  it  was  getting 
late. 

"I  am  waiting  for  Brother  Young,"  said  she. 

"  He  has  gone  long  ago,"  said  I.  "  I  thought  you 
knew  it." 

"Gone,  without  me?  Why,  that's  funny,  when  he 
made  such  a  point  of  my  going  with  him." 

"Yes;  but  that  was  before  Amelia  came." 

Emmeline's  face  changed  expression  in  a  moment. 
"She  here?" 


A   DISAPPOINTED   WIFE.  509 

"  Yes ;  she  came  this  morning.  Brother  Young  went 
to  the  depot  to  meet  her." 

"Then  he  must  have  known  she  was  coming.  Can  I 
never  go  any  where  without  having  her  thrust  in  my  face  ? 
I  thought  for  once  I  should  be  spared  the  infliction." 

She  took  off  her  things,  and  I  laid  mine  aside,  too,  and 
in  place  of  going  to  the  grand  conference  meeting  and 
listening  to  "  our "  husband's  eloquence,  we  had  a  confer- 


WAITING  FOR  BRIGHAM  TO  KEEP  HIS  PROMISE, 

ence  of  our  own,  and  that  morning  I  came  nearer  to 
Emmeline's  heart  than  I  ever  had  before.  She  talked  to 
me  unreservedly  and  unrestrainedly,  and  told  me  events  in 
her  history  that  were  full  of  thrilling  interest,  but  which 
were  given  me  in  confidence,  and  which  I  cannot  give  again 
to  the  world.  I  think  the  dead  eyes  would  haunt  me  for 
ever,  and  the  dead  lips  would  move  in  ghostly  reproach  if 
I  betrayed  her  even  now.  Dear,  loving  heart,  that  beat 


so  wearily  through  all  the  years,  I  hope  you  are  meeting 
your  reward  now,  cradled  in  the  infinite  love  of  a  Divine 
Father  !  Tears  dimmed  my  eyes  and  moistened  my  cheeks, 
when  I  read,  a  few  days  since,  of  your  death;  but  they 
were  tears  of  joy  at  your  glad  release,  and  not  such  bitter 
tears  of  indignant  sorrow  as  I  shed  that  morning  over  the 
story  of  your  wrongs. 

I  think  Brigham  felt  ashamed  and  a  little  conscience- 
stricken.  I  know  he  was  decidedly  uncomfortable  when 
he  met  his  insulted  wife  again.  He  tried  every  means  in 
his  power  to  propitiate  her,  and  I  never  saw  him  assume 
so  abject  a  manner  before.  Amelia  returned  that  day,  and 
he  told  Emmeline  that  he  did  not  know  of  her  intention  to 
come  down,  that  he  had  not  expected  her  at  all.  He  also 
told  her  that  the  reason  he  paid  so  much  attention  to 
Amelia  was,  that  he  might  "  save  her  soul." 

Emmeline  did  not  believe  him  when  he  told  her  he  did 
not  expect  Amelia,  and  she  told  him  so  very  plainly.  He 
then  came  to  me,  and  said,  — 

"Emmeline  's  real  mad  at  me  — isn't  she?  " 
"Yes,"  said  I,  "but  no  more  than  you  deserve.     I  think 
it's  too  bad  in  you  to  take  her  for  a  pleasure  trip,  and  then 
get  Amelia  here  at  the  first  stopping-place." 

"  I  didn't  get  her  here.     I  didn't  know  she  was  coming." 
"Well,  all  I  can  say  is,  it  looked  like  it;  you  certainly 
went  to  the  station  to  meet  her." 

"  I  just  went  down  to  see  who  had  come,  that's  all.  Seems 
to  me  you're  taking  Emmeline's  part  pretty  strong  —  ain't 
you?" 

"Yes,  I  am,  for  I  think  you've  treated  her  badly." 
"Guess  a  little  of  the  mad  is  on  your  own  account  — 
isn't  it?" 

"  Not  a  particle  of  it.     Amelia  doesn't  interfere  with  me." 
He   laughed    and   went   out.     Presently  Joe   made    his 
appearance,  probably  sent  by  his  father. 

"  So  Emmeline  is  cutting  up  rough  about  Amelia's  com- 
ing, is  she?  "  he  asked  of  me. 


"THE  MANIAC."  511 

"  Not  at  all ;  she's  indignant,  but  that's  no  more  than  is  to 
be  expected ;  but  as  for  '  cutting  up  rough,'  as  you  term  it, 
she's  too  much  of  a  lady  to  do  that." 

"Well,  it's  too  bad  to  have  this  fuss ;  but  I  suppose  I'm 
to  blame  for  the  whole  affair.  I  was  coming  down,  and  I 
didn't  want  to  come  alone,  so  I  asked  Mary,  Alice,  and 
Amelia  to  come  along  too.  I  never  thought  of  Emmeline 
when  I  asked  Amelia." 

w  Mary  "  was  Joseph  A.'s  first  wife,  Alice  was  his  sister, 
and  the  two  were  very  intimate  with  Amelia.  This  story 
sounded  very  well,  but  I  didn't  believe  it,  neither  did 
Emmeline,  when  she  heard  it.  It  was  too  evident  that  Joe 
had  been  sent  by  his  father  to  endeavor  to  make  peace.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  Amelia  did  not  put  in  an  appearance  again 
during  the  trip. 

Emmeline  had  been  an  invalid  for  years,  and  I  was  not 
surprised  to  learn  of  her  death.  When  I  heard  of  it,  I  felt 
as  I  always  do  when  I  hear  of  the  death  of  any  Mormon 
woman.  I  thank  God  to  think  their  misery  is  over.  She 
had  eight  children,  Marinda,  Ella,  Louise, — nicknamed 
"  Punk  "  by  her  father,- — Hyrum,  Lorenzo,  Alonzo,  Ruth, 
and  Delia. 

Marinda  is  the  only  wife  of  Walter  Conrad.  Ella  and 
Louise  are  both  married  out  of  polygamy,  one  to  Nelson 
Empy,  the  other  to  James  Harris.  Hyrum,  so  far,  con- 
tents himself  with  one  wife. 

Clara  Chase  is  usually  spoken  of  as  "the  maniac."  She 
died  mad  several  years  since,  leaving  a  large  family  of 
children.  She  married  him  when  quite  young,  but  she 
never  was  a  firm  believer  in  Polygamy,  indeed,  she  dis- 
trusted the  principles  of  it  from  the  very  beginning,  and 
had  many  struggles  of  conscience  before  she  could  make 
up  her  mind  to  marry  the  Prophet,  and  she  suffered  per- 
petual remorse  ever  after.  She  had  a  peculiar  face,  low- 
browed and  dark,  and  it  was  rarely  lighted  up  by  any 
pleasurable  motive.  There  was  on  it  an  expression  of  fixed 
melancholy  that  seldom  varied  or  changed. 


512  "YOU   HAVE    SENT    ME    TO    HELL!" 

Knowing  her  aversion  to  the  system,  and  her  distrust  of 
it  and  of  him,  Brigham  at  first  treated  her  with  a  very 
great  deal  of  consideration.  He  gave  her  an  elegant  room, 
nicely  furnished,  and  placed  in  it  a  large  portrait  of  himself. 
He  tried  to  make  her  surroundings  as  cheery  as  possible, 
and  so  wean  her  from  the  melancholy  into  which  she  had 
fallen.  As  long  as  he  devoted  himself  personally  to  her, 
she  was  comparatively  cheerful  and  content,  and  tried  her 
best  to  be  happy;  but  when  he  neglected  her  she  was 
almost  desperate,  and  wandered  about  in  a  half-dazed 
fashion,  weeping  and  moaning,  and  calling  on  God  to  for- 
give her. 

Just  before  her  last  child  was  born,  her  fits  of  remorse 
were  terrible.  She  endured  untold  agonies,  and  accused 
herself  of  having  committed  the  unpardonable  sin,  and  she 
knew  salvation  was  denied.  Those  who  were  about  her  at 
the  time,  say  that  it  was  heart-rending  to  hear  her. 

Just  at  this  time,  when  her  husband  should  have  given 
her  the  most  love  and  tenderest  of  sympathy,  he  was,  more 
than  ever,  harsh,  cruel,  and  unfeeling,  and  treated  her  with 
such  marked  coldness  and  contempt,  that  she  went  insane, 
and  raved  constantly.  "  I  am  going  to  hell !  I  am  going  to 
hell ! "  was  her  agonized  cry.  "  Brigham  has  caused  it ; 
he  has  cursed  me  for  ever.  Don't  any  of  you  go  into  poly- 
gamy ;  mind  what  I  say ;  don't  do  it.  It  will  curse  you, 
and  damn  your  souls  eternally."  When  she  saw  her  hus- 
band, she  cursed  him  as  the  cause  of  her  downfall.  w  I 
have  committed  the  unpardonable  sin ;  you  have  made  me 
do  it.  O,  curse  you !  curse  you  !  You  have  sent  me  to 
hell,  and  I  am  going  soon."  To  her  children,  as  they 
gathered  round  her,  she  cried,  "  O,  don't  follow  my  ex- 
ample !  Don't  go  into  polygamy,  unless  you  wish  to  be 
cursed !  Don't  let  my  children  do  as  I  have  done,"  she 
would  say  to  those  about  her.  No  help  could  avail  her. 
Brigham  and  his  counsellors  "  laid  hands  "  on  her.  A  doc- 
tor was  called,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  She  died  in  the  midst 


5*3 

of  her  ravings.  Her  children's  names  were  Mary,  Maria, 
Willard,  and  Phoebe.  Mary  is  dead.  Maria  is  the  wife  of 
William  Dougall.  Phoebe  is  the  only  wife  of  Walter  Bade. 
Willard,  the  only  son,  has  just  graduated  with  honors  at 
West  Point. 

Ellen  Rockwood  was  one  of  the  least  regarded  of  the 
wives.  She  was  a  little  woman,  in  delicate  health,  and 
very  fond  of  fancy-work.  She  was  the  daughter  of  the 
warden  of  the  penitentiary,  one  of  Brigham's  faithful  officers. 
Her  influence  with  the  Prophet  was  very  small,  as  she  had 
no  children,  and  was  regarded  as  of  little  consequence  on 
that  account.  Still,  I  do  not  think  that  Brigham  ever  posi- 
tively ill-treated  her.  He  used  to  call  on  her  very  cere- 
moniously once  in  six  months. 

Margaret  Alley,  who  was  never  much  of  a  favorite,  died 
in  1853.  She  was  morbid  in  temperament,  and,  before  her 
death,  became  very  melancholy,  owing  to  the  neglect  of  her 
husband.  She  had  two  children,  Eva  and  Mahonri-Mori- 
anchamer. 

One  of  Brigham's  "proxy"  wives  was  Jemima  Angell,  a 
relative  of  Mary  Ann  Angell,  his  first  living  and  legal  wife. 
Her  husband  had  died,  leaving  her  with  three  children  ;  and 
when  she  came  to  Nauvoo,  Brigham  found  them.  He 
wanted  a  servant,  and  she  wanted  salvation.  The  dis- 
coveries were  simultaneous,  and  she  was  very  soon  persuaded 
to  be  sealed  to  him.  All  the  while  they  were  in  Nauvoo, 
"Aunt  Mima"  worked  untiringly,  and  on  the  arrival  at 
Salt  Lake  he  gave  her  a  lot  of  land  for  her  children.  One 
of  her  sons  built  a  house  on  it,  but  she  did  not  occupy  it,  as 
she  could  not  be  spared  from  Brigham's  kitchen.  She 
worked  until  she  became  broken  down  in  mind  and  body, 
and  then  Brigham  sent  her  to  her  daughter,  who  was  mar- 
ried to  a  poor  man,  and  had  a  large  family  of  children,  yet 
was  willing  to  take  her  mother,  and  do  the  best  he  could  by 
her.  She  died  very  soon,  and  the  daughter's  husband 
telegraphed  the  news  of  the  death  to  Brigham ;  also  the 
33 


514  ^HE  END  OF  "AUNT  MIMA!" 

time  they  should  arrive  with  the  body  for  burial.  They 
lived  fifty  miles  from  Salt  Lake,  in  the  Weber  Valley,  and, 
as  they  could  not  obtain  a  coffin  there,  they  put  the  body 
into  a  box  to  convey  it  to  her  husband,  who,  when  they 
arrived,  was  not  at  home;  at  least,  he  could  not  be  found; 
and  what  is  called  the  "Eagle  Gate,"  or  the  entrance  to  the 
Prophet's  premises,  was  closed  against  them.  They  could 
not  gain  admittance  for  hours ;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  all 
that  was  left  of  "  Aunt  Mima  "  lay  in  a  pine  box  in  an  open 
wagon,  with  every  avenue  to  her  husband's  house  closed 
against  her. 

Finally,  even  Brigham  grew  ashamed,  and  allowed  him- 
self to  be  found ;  and  when  they  asked  him  where  they 
should  take  her,  said,  very  carelessly,  "  O,  I  suppose  she 
might  as  well  go  to  her  sisters',  upon  'the  hill !  "  She  was 
taken  there,  and  decently  buried,  though  Brigham  grumbled 
about  the  expense. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  land  that  he  had  given  her  had  in- 
creased in  value,  and  when  the  children  went  to  take  pos- 
session of  it,  he  refused  to  let  them  have  it,  although  it 
would  have  been  a  God-send  to  poor  Mrs.  Frazier,  with  her 
large  family  of  children.  But  his  avarice  is  so  inordinate 
that  no  amount  of  suffering  stands  in  the  way  of  his  self- 
enrichment.  Once  he  is  bent  on  obtaining  a  piece  of  prop- 
erty, he  does  not  care  whom  he  defrauds  to  obtain  it. 

At  the  time  he  was  sealed  to  Lucy  Biglow,  he  had  her 
sister  sealed  at  the  same  time.  She  was  very  pretty,  and 
he  had  seemed  very  fond  of  her.  But  suddenly  his  fond- 
ness cooled,  and  he  treated  her  in  the  most  shameful  man- 
ner. He  heaped  every  indignity  upon  her,  and  finally  sent 
her  back  to  her  parents,  saying  she  had  been  untrue  to  him. 
She  protested  her  innocence ;  but  all  in  vain.  He  would 
not,  or  professeji  not,  to  believe  her,  and  talked  harshly  and 
cruelly  to  her  when  she  attempted  to  vindicate  herself. 

Her  parents  were  very  much  grieved,  and  were  tossed 
about  with  conflicting  doubts.  They  wanted  to  believe  their 


THE    DISGRACED    WIFE. 


5^5 


daughter,  and,  in  their  hearts,  I  believe  they  did ;  yet  they 
dared  not  dispute  Brigham.  They  took  the  poor,  heart- 
broken girl  home,  and  she  fairly  pined  to  death  under  the 
disgrace  that  her  husband  tried  to  attach  to  her  name. 

Besides   those  wives  whom  I   have   already  mentioned, 
there  have  been  very  many  more  who  have  been  married  to 


THE  DISGRACED  WIFE. 

him  w  for  eternity."  I  should  be  sorry  even  to  guess  their 
numbers.  There  was  also  one  wife,  who,  during  "  Reforma- 
tion" times,  was  said  to  have  "run  away  to  California  "  [a 
thousand  miles  away  through  an  uninhabited  country,  and 
before  the  era  of  railways  in  the  West]  ;  but  it  was  whispered 


HE    NEVER    SHED   A   TEAR! 

among  wicked  Gentiles  that  really  she  paid  the  full  penalty 
of  the  Endowment-Oaths,  and  in  the  Endowment-House,  too, 
her  throat  being  cut  from  ear  to  ear,  and  the  other  horrible 
performances  gone  through,  on  account  of  some  indiscretion, 
or  want  of  faith.  Of  course,  I  do  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of 
this  statement.  I  simply  give  it  in  common  with  much  else 
for  what  it  is  worth. 

I  have  heard  Brigham  say,  in  speaking  of  the  number 
of  wives  and  children  that  he  had  buried,  "that  he  never 
shed  a  tear  at  anyone's  death ; "  and  I  believe  that,  if  every 
friend  he  had  in  the  world  lay  before  him,  cold  and  still 
and  with  frozen  pulse,  he  would  look  on  unmoved  and  in- 
different, and  never  shed  a  tear,  so  utterly  heartless  is  he. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


THE   PROPHET  AT  HOME.  — HOW  HE  LOOKS,  LIV^S,  AND 
ACTS.  — MORMON   PHILANTHROPY   AND    EDUCATION. 

Brigham  at  Forty-five  and  at  Seventy-five.  —  Slipping  the  Yoke.  —  The 
Salt  Lake  Tribune.  —  Books  on  Mormonism.  —  Prophetic  Philanthropy. 

—  The  New  Temple.  —  Paying  the  Workmen.  —  The  Tabernacle. — 
Advantages  of  the  Presidency.  —  Free  Schools  and  Liberal  Education. 

—  Sharp  Practice.  —  The  Rich  and  the  Poor.  —  Unconscious  Sarcasm. 

—  Looking  into  the  Future.  —  The  Spectacles  of  Ignorance.  —  Personal 
Habits.  —  The  Prophet's  Barber.  —  Dinner  at  the  Lion  House.  —  The 
Good   Provider.  —  Helping   herself.  —  Prophetic   Cunning.  —  Evening 
Devotions.  —  A  Gift  in   Prayer.  —  Advice   to   the   Deity.  —  Fatherless 
Children.  —  The  Bee  Hive.  —  Monogamist  vs.  Polygamist 

NLESS  I  pause  and  look 
back  almost  to  my  very 
babyhood,  and  contrast 
Brigham  Young  as  he 
then  was  with  the  Brig- 
ham  Young  of  to-day, 
I  can  scarcely  realize 
the  change  that  has 
taken  place  in  this  man. 
As  I  recollect  him  first, 
he  was  a  man  in  the 
prime  of  life,  with  rather 
a  genial  face,  and  a 
manner  which,  though 
abrupt  at  times,  had 
nothing  of  the  assump- 
tion and  intolerance 
which'  characterize  it 

now.  Indeed  there  was,  at  that  time,  a  semblance  of  hu- 
mility, which  served  his  purpose  well,  by  strengthening  the 
confidence  of  the  people  in  him. 


DINNER  AT  THE  LION  HOUSK. 


518  THE    MORMON   MESSIAH. 

Had  he  claimed,  at  that  auspicious  point  in  his  career, 
when  accident  placed  him  at  the  head  of  this  peculiar  sect, 
that  he  was  the  peer  of  Joseph  Smith,  upon  whom  had  de- 
scended the  mantle  of  that  martyred  saint,  his  pretensions 
would  have  been  treated  as  contemptuously  as  were  Sidney 
Rigdon's.  His  shrewdness  plainly  showed  him  that,  and 
his  cunning  and  tact  pointed  out  to  him  the  surest  way  of 
gaining  an  ascendency  over  his  followers. 

He  taught  them  that  Joseph  was  their  Messiah ;  that  he 
was  only  acting  in  his  place  until  he  should  be  restored  to 
them  in  person  ;  which,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  many  still 
believe  will  occur,  and  actually  watch  for  his  visible  pres- 
ence among  them  again.  Still,  that  belief  does  not  obtain 
so  generally  as  it  did  during  the  first  years  after  Joseph's 
death.  The  gradual  change  in  the  President  has  not  been 
without  its  effects,  and  there  is  now  very  much  more  of  the 
material  than  of  the  spiritual  in  the  Mormon  belief. 

Nearly  everything  that  was  done  by  him  in  those  earlier 
days  was  done  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  and  Joseph,  and 
he  was  constantly  in  the  habit  of  expressing  his  intentions 
of  carrying  out  "brother  Joseph's"  plans.  Gradually,  as 
he  could  without  its  being  too  closely  observed  and  com- 
mented on,  he  dropped  "brother  Joseph,"  and  made  his  own 
desires  the  law  by  which  the  people  were  to  be  ruled. 
Yet  so  quietly  and  subtly  was  this  done,  that  the  Saints 
never  knew  when  they  passed  from  the  rule  of  Joseph 
Smith  and  superstition,  to  the  absolute  despotism  of  Brig- 
ham  Young,  which  has  been  indeed  a  "  reign  of  terror." 

The  absolute  belief  which  he  used  to  express  in  Joseph, 
and  his  unquestioning  faith  in  his  works  and  mission,  he 
expected  every  one  to  yield  to  him  in  turn  ;  and  he  and  his 
immediate  followers  and  associates  have  taught  and  insisted 
upon  this  blind  subjection  so  long,  that  the  Mormon  people 
have  neglected  to  use  their  reasoning  powers,  until  they 
have  become  so  blunted,  that  the  majority  of  them  are  inca- 
pable of  arriving  at  any  conclusions  by  their  own  unaided 
effort,  or  of  forming  any  independent  opinions. 


5*9 

In  the  early  days,  in  his  intercourse  with  the  people,  he 
was  one  of  them,  —  a  sharer  in  their  adversity,  a  compan- 
ion, and  a  friend.  Now,  he  holds  himself  apart  from  them, 
looks  upon  himself  as  above  and  beyond  them,  as  some- 
thing better  than  they,  and  they  partake  of  his  own  de- 
lusion, and  assist  him  in  his  self-deception. 

Now  and  then  one  keener  than  the  rest  sees  the  change, 
and  deplores  it.  Rough  old  Heber  C.  Kimball  could  never 
become  reconciled  to  it,  and,  more  honest  and  more  daring 
than  the  others,  used  to  express  himself  very  freely. 

"Brigham's  God  is  gold,"  he  said  one  day  to  the  apostle 
Orson  Hyde ;  "  he  is  changed  much  since  he  and  I  stood 
by  each  other,  in  the  old  days,  defending  the  faith.  He 
has  become  a  selfish,  cold-hearted  tyrant,  and  he  doesn't 
care  at  all  for  the  old  friends  who  have  stood  by  him  and 
loved  him.  What  do  you  think  of  that,  Brother  Orson?" 

"  That  sort  of  talk  may  do  for  Brother  Heber,"  was  the 
reply,  "but  it  would  not  do  for  Brother  Orson.  He  could 
not  express  himself  in  that  manner  with  impunity,  so  he 
will  say  nothing." 

At  forty-five  Brigham  Young  was  a  common  looking, 
very  ordinary  appearing  man,  in  no  way  the  superior  of 
the  majority  of  the  church,  and  decidedly  the  inferior  of 
some  of  the  members.  He  was  homely  in  speech,  neither 
easy  nor  graceful  in  manner,  and  dressed  very  plainly  in 
homespun. 

Brigham  Young,  at  seventy-five,  has  the  appearance  of 
a  well-preserved  Englishman,  of  the  yeoman  class.  There 
is  less  bluster  in  his  manner  than  formerly,  but  more  inso- 
lent assumption.  He  is  still  the  mental  inferior  of  some  of 
the  officers  of  his  church,  but  in  crafty  cunning  and  mali- 
cious shrewdness  he  is  far  in  advance  of  an}r  of  his  asso- 
ciates. He  is  not  more  finished  and  elegant  in  his  mode  of 
speech,  but  he  says  less,  and  consequently  has  won  the 
opinion  of  having  grown  more  pleasing  in  his  address. 
-He  is  arrogant  to  his  inferiors,  and  unpleasantly  familiar  to 


52O  APING   THE    GENTILES. 

the  very  few  whom  he  desires  for  any  reason  to  conciliate. 
He  dresses  in  the  finest  of  broadcloth,  fashionably  cut,  is 
more  finical  than  an  old  beau,  and  vainer  and  more  anx- 
ious than  a  young  belle,  concerning  his  -personnel.  He 
says  that  this  change  in  his  mode  of  dress  has  been  brought 
about  by  his  wives.  I  have  no  doubt  that  Amelia  may 
have  had  some  influence  in  that  direction ;  still  his  own 
inclinations  probably  had  just  as  much  to  do  with  it. 

Since  he  has  allowed  himself  to  see  and  be  seen  by  more 
of  the  outside  world  than  he  formerly  did,  he  has  grown  to 
appear  more  like  the  Gentiles,  concerning  whom  he  sneers 
so  loudly,  even  while  aping  their  manners  and  customs. 
He  is  impatient  of  criticism,  and  as  sensitive  to  public  opin- 
ion as  though  he  were  not  constantly  defying  it.  He  is  at 
once  ambitious  and  vain,  and,  like  all  persons  who  turn 
others  to  ridicule,  is  very  sensitive  to  anything  approaching 
it  when  it  is  directed  towards  himself.  He  reads  every- 
thing that  is  written  against  him.  I  think  no  book  has  ever 
been  published,  exposing  him  and  his  religious  system, 
which  he  has  not  perused,  from  the  title  page  to  the  con- 
clusion. He  loses  his  temper  every  morning  over  the  Salt 
Lake  Tribune,  —  the  leading  Gentile  paper  of  Utah,  —  and 
longs  for  a  return  of  the  days  when  one  word  of  his  would 
have  put  a  summary  and  permanent  end  to  the  existence  of 
this  sheet,  by  the  utter  annihilation  of  everything  and  every- 
body connected  with  it.  But  the  time  is  forever  past  when 
the  "unsheathing  of  his  bowie-knife,"  or  the  "crooking  of 
his  little  finger,"  pronounced  sentence  upon  offenders,  and 
the  Gentile  paper  and  its  supporters  flourish  in  spite  of  him. 

I  remember  once  going  into  his  office,  and  finding  him 
examining  the  advertising  circular  of  a  book  on  Mormon- 
ism,  written  by  a  lady  who  had  for  a  time  been  a  resident 
of  Utah.  He  commenced  reading  it  aloud  to  me  in  a 
whining  voice,  imitating  the  tone  of  a  crying  woman. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  this  attempt  to  make  a  jest  of  it,  I 
knew  that  the  publication  of  this  book  annoyed  him  exces- 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 


PROPHETIC    BEGGING.  521 

sively,  and  that  he  was  both  curious  and  anxious  concern- 
ing the  contents,  and  the  effect  they  would  produce ;  for, 
with  all  his  professed  contempt  for  Babylon  and  its  Gentile 
inhabitants,  he  is  very  sensitive  concerning  the  opinions 
which  are  held  concerning  him  by  these  unregenerate  souls. 

Unscrupulous  and  avaricious,  he  has  made  even  disasters 
profitable  to  himself.  After  the  tragical  hand-cart  expedi- 
tion, he  sold  the  hand-carts  that  remained  when  the  emi- 
grants had  all  got  in  for  fifteen  dollars  apiece.  This  was 
to  go  to  the  "church  fund,"  which  virtually  means  "Brig- 
ham's  private  purse."  It  has  been  already  related  how  he 
made  his  "improved  carriage  scheme"  more  than  pay  for 
itself  several  times  over,  although  they  did  not  survive  the 
first  trip. 

As  "  Trustee  in  Trust"  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
the  Latter-Day  Saints,  all  the  money  of  the  church  passes 
through  his  hands,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  into  them, 
since  it  is  rarely  known  to  leave  them  again.  The  tithing- 
fund,  and  the  subscriptions  for  various  church  purposes, 
are  all  given  into  his  keeping ;  and  although  the  sums  of 
money  gathered  in  this  way  have  been  very  large,  none  of 
it  has  ever  been  appropriated  to  the  cause  for  which  it  was 
supposed  to  be  intended  by  those  sacrificing  souls  who  de- 
nied themselves  that  the  Lord  might  be  served. 

He  is  as  inexorable  a  beggar  to-day  as  he  was  forty 
years  ago,  when  he  was  a  humble  follower  of  Joseph 
Smith,  preaching  the  new  gospel  to  whoever  would  hear 
him,  and  being  fed  and  clothed  by  whoever  would  supply 
his  wants.  He  made  no  hesitation  in  letting  these  wants  be 
known,  and  he  would  request  that  they  should  be  relieved 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

"  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  these 
my  little  ones,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me,"  has  been  the  stan- 
dard teaching  of  the  Mormon  missionaries  from  the  very 
earliest  days ;  and  no  one  could  enlarge  on  this  passage 
more  eloquently  than  Brother  Brigham  when  he  was  in 


522  RAISING    THE   WIND. 

need  of  a  new  coat,  or  a  small  sum  of  money,  or  even  a 
supper  and  a  night's  lodging. 

He  is  as  eloquent  now,  when  talking  on  the  subject  of 
giving,  with  this  exception  in  his  style  of  address,  that  he 
now  demands  instead  of  asks,  and  it  is  disastrous  to  refuse 
him.  He  begs  for  the  missionaries,  and  the  poor  men  never 
get  a  cent  of  the  thousands  of  dollars  that  are  raised  for 
them.  He  begs  for  the  Temple,  which  is  his  pet  subject, 
whenever  there  is  nothing  else  to  beg  for,  and  the  amount 
of  money  which  he  has  raised  for  the  building  ought  to 
have  erected  several  very  imposing  edifices. 

Many  years  ago  he  levied  contributions  upon  the  English 
Saints  for  the  purchase  of  glass  for  the  Temple  windows. 
The  sum  desired  must  be  collected  at  once.  The  Lord  was 
soon  coming  to  enter  upon  his  earthly  kingdom,  and  the 
place  must  be  prepared  for  him.  Missionaries  preached, 
and  laymen  exhorted ;  they  astonished  even  themselves  by 
their  eloquence,  as  they  dwelt  upon  the  beauty  of  Zion,  the 
city  ot  the  Lord,  and  the  glory  that  was  to  descend  upon 
his  chosen  people.  Those  who  were  not  moved  by  their 
oratory  were  impelled  by  their  command ;  but,  for  the  most 
part,  the  money  was  given  voluntarily.  Working  men  and 
women  took  a  few  pennies  from  their  scant  wages,  and  gave 
them  with  wonderful  readiness,  and  then  suffered  from  cold 
and  absolute  hunger  for  days  after.  But  they  suffered  with 
painful  joyousness  and  devotion,  since  they  were  giving  it 
to  the  Lord,  who  had  chosen  them  out  of  all  the  world  for 
his  very  own  people,  and  who  would  make  their  self-denials 
here  redound  to  their  glory  and  grace  when  at  last  they 
should  arrive  in  his  presence. 

At  that  time,  the  foundation  walls  of  the  Temple  were 
barely  above  the  ground,  and  the  work  has  progressed  very 
slowly  since.  At  any  rate,  the  glass  has  not  been  bought, 
and  there  seems  very  little  probability  of  window  material 
being  needed  at  present ;  and  if  the  Lord  is  not  to  visit  the 
Saints  until  his  home  is  completed,  even  the  younger 


ARCHITECTURAL    INSPIRATIONS, 


523 


MORMON  TEMPLE  NOW  BUILDING. 


members  of  the   present  generation  will  not  be  likely  to 
see  Him. 

The  "Tabernacle," 
where  the  Saints  wor- 
ship at  present,  is  one  of 
Brigham's  few  "  inspira- 
tions," and  is  as  great  a 
success  as  are  most  of 
his  inspired  ideas.  It  is 
an  ugly-looking  build- 
ing, oval  in  shape,  with 
a  sort  of  arched  roof, 
which  shuts  down  over 
it,  like  the  lid  of  a  wick- 
er-work basket.  It  is 
very  commodious,  which 
is  its  chief  recommenda- 
tion, holding  comforta- 
bly twelve  thousand  persons.  In  this  w  inspired  "  edifice, 
every  law  of  acoustics  is  outraged,  and  only  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  congregation  can  hear  what  the  speaker  is  say- 
ing. It  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  wide,  and  eighty  feet  high,  while  there  is  not 
a  column  in  it  to  obstruct  the  view,  and  the  interior  view  is 
flat  and  expansive. 

The  organ  claims  to  have  been  built  by  a  good  Mormon 
brother,  assisted  by  a  large  number  of  mechanics ;  and  is 
said  to  be  the  largest  ever  built  in  the  United  States.  It  is 
placed  at  the  end  of  the  Tabernacle,  directly  back  of  the 
speakers  stand,  and  the  seats  for  the  choir  are  arranged  on 
each  side  of  it. 

This  building,  in  which  the  Saints  are  to  worship  until 
the  more  pretentious  Temple  is  finished,  is  ugly  in  the  out- 
ward appearance,  cheerless  in  the  interior,  very  inconven- 
ient in  its  arrangements,  and  practically  useless  unless  the 
walls  are  draped  so  as  to  render  the  voices  of  the  speakers 


524 


BALANCING   ACCOUNTS. 


audible ;  but  wheu  the  new  building  —  which  is  said  by 
Brigham  to  be  of  Divine  architecture  —  shall  be  completed, 
it  is  probable  that  these  things  will  be  vastly  improved. 

In  the  mean  time  the  begging  goes  on,  but  the  work 
moves  slowly.  Large  contributions  come  flowing  in,  but 
the  Temple  does  not  advance  visibly ;  while  Brigham  adds 
house  to  house,  field  to  field,  increases  his  bank  deposits, 
and  lives  as  well  as  any  man  in  his  position  would  wish  to 
live. 

The  people  will  take  no  bonds  from  him  ;  and  as  it  would 


INTERIOR  OF  TABERNACLE  ON  SUNDAYS. 

seem  like  questioning  the  Lord's  anointed,  he  is  supposed 
to  administer  the  financial  affairs  under  the  direction  of  the 
Lord,  no  statements  are  ever  required  of  him.  Once  in  a 
while,  however,  he  goes  through  the  form  of  a  settlement 
of  accounts,  which  he  simplifies  immensely,  by  a  system 
all  his  own.  It  is  said  that  at  one  time  he  balanced  his 
account  with  the  church  by  ordering  the  clerk  to  place  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to  his  account  for  services  ren- 
dered, which  was  exactly  the  sum  of  his  indebtedness  to 
the  church.  This  was  in  1852;  and  in  1867  he  repeated 
this  peculiar  financial  operation ;  this  time  making  his  ser- 


A   LIBERAL    SALARY.  525 

vices  liquidate  an  obligation  for  nine  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  thousand  dollars. 

It  is  worth  while  to  be  President  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-Day  Saints  at  a  salary  like  that,  and  it  is 
no  wonder  that  he  desires  to  keep  it  in  the  family,  and  is  so 
anxious  to  appoint  a  successor. 

But  on  the  other  side,  see  at  what  terrible  rates  the  poor 
people  must  have  been  taxed  to  have  paid  for  the  support 
of  this  one  man  and  his  family,  between  the  years  1847 
and  1867 — a  period  of  just  twenty  years  —  one  million 
one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  thousand  dollars,  nearly  sixty 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  This  does  not  include  many 
grants  of  land  and  other  property,  made  to  him  by  the  ter- 
ritorial legislature,  nor  his  compensation  by  the  United 
States  government  as  governor  and  Indian  agent.  Although 
a  very  ignorant  man  himself,  able  neither  to  read  nor  write 
the  English  language  correctly,  he  has  always  been  a  bit- 
ter opponent  of  free  schools  and  liberal  education. 

"I  will  not  give  a  dollar,''  he  says,  "to  educate  another 
man's  child.  If  you  school  your  children,  there  is  great 
danger  of  their  becoming  blacklegs  and  horse  thieves,"  he 
announced  on  one  occasion,  yet  he  seems  quite  willing  that 
his  own  should  take  the  risk.  All  of  them  have  received 
a  certain  amount  of  education,  enough  to  make  them  pre- 
sentable in  society,  and  some  have  had  quite  superior  ad- 
vantages. One  son  has  just  graduated  at  West  Point, 
another  is  a  student  at  the  Michigan  University  Law 
School,  and  a  third  has  just  entered  Cornell  University. 

Every  attempt  that  has  been  made  for  the  establishment 
of  free  schools  he  has  fiercely  battled  against,  and  the 
other  officers  of  the  church  have  invariably  followed  his 
lead.  He  assures  his  people  that  education  is  the  bitterest 
foe  to  labor.  If  they  allow  their  Children  to  be  taught  any- 
thing they  will  no  longer  be  of  any  service  to  their  par- 
rents.  He  dilates  largely  upon  this  subject  in  the  Taber- 
nacle. 


526  BRIGHAM    ON    EDUCATION. 

"I  am  utterly  opposed  to  the  schools,"  he  said,  in  one 
address.  "  They  have  been  introduced  into  the  States  in 
consequence  of  the  tyranny  of  the  rich  over  the  poor.  But 
instead  of  keeping  the  people  poor,  and  then  providing 
free  schools  for  them,  I  would  have  the  rich  put  out  their 
money  to  usury  by  giving  the  poor  employment,  that  they 
may  be  able  to  sustain  themselves  and  school  their  own 
children.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  rich  to  use  their  means,  as 
I  have  done  myself,  in  building  factories,  railroads,  and 
other  branches  of  industry,  in  order  that  the  laboring  peo- 
ple may  have  a  chance  to  work  together,  and  improve  their 
condition ;  the  rich  taking  their  portion,  and  all  growing 
wealthy  together." 

There  is  an  unconscious  sarcasm  in  this  last  sentence 
that  is  positively  sublime.  That  one  expression,  "  as  I  have 
done  myself,"  is  the  supremest  satire.  I  do  not  believe 
there  is  anywhere  a  man  so  suspicious  of  his  workmen,  so 
penurious  in  his  dealings  with  them,  so  anxious  to  cut  their 
wages  down  to  the  very  lowest  penny,  as  is  Brigham  Young. 
I  know  men  who  have  been  in  his  employ  for  years,  and 
have  never  received  the  least  remuneration.  They  have 
worked  on  and  on,  and  when  at  last  they  have  brought  a 
bill  against  him  for  their  labor,  they  have  been  met  with 
one  equally  large  on  his  side  for  house  rent,  or  goods  from 
the  co-operative  store,  or  are  told  that  their  labor  is  to  go 
toward  paying  their  tithing. 

If  all  the  rich  men  use  their  means,  w  as  I  have  done 
mine,"  therefore  there  will  be  very  little  chance  of  the 
poor  man  being  able  to  educate  their  children  at  all :  which 
is  exactly  what  Brigham  Young  wants.  Had  he  spoken 
the  truth  he  would  have  said,  "I  am  opposed  to  free  schools. 
They  will  rend  this  dark  veil  of  superstition  which  envel- 
ops you,  and  let  in  the  light  of  reason,  and  this  will  loosen 
my  hold  on  you.  If  you  educate  your  children  you  make 
better  men  and  women  of  them,  but  they  will  not  be  such 
blind  slaves  to  me  as  you  have  been.  The  day  that  sees 


THE    FAMILY    DINNER.  527 

knowledge  generally  disseminated  throughout  this  commu- 
nity sees  my  power  broken,  my  'opportunities'  gone,  and 
therefore,  with  my  consent,  we  will  have  no  free  schools." 

Unlettered  and  uncultured  as  he  is,  he  recognizes  the 
power  of  education,  and  that  is  why  he  is  such  a  bitter  op- 
ponent to  general  culture,  and  why,  at  the  same  time,  he 
takes  special  care  that  his  own  children  shall  lack  no  ad- 
vantages. 

His  personal  habits  are  quite  simple,  and  he  is  very 
regular  in  his  mode  of  living.  He  rises  usually  about 
seven  o'clock,  dresses  and  breakfasts  very  leisurely,  and 
appears  at  his  private  office  about  nine.  He  examines  his 
letters,  dictates  replies  to  his  secretary,  reads  the  morning 
papers,  or  has  them  read  to  him,  and  attends  to  some  of 
his  official  business.  His  barber  comes  to  him  at  ten 
o'clock,  and  for  the  time  he  is  engaged  exclusively  at  his 
toilet.  The  presence  of  visitors  never  interrupts  this  im- 
portant event  of  the  day.  The  rest  of  the  morning  he 
devotes  to  callers,  and  to  such  business  as  requires  his  own 
personal  attention.  At  three  he  dines,  and  it  is  then  that 
he  meets  his  family  for  the  first  time  in  the  day.  Dinner 
is  served  at  the  Lion  House,  and  the  appearance  of  Brig- 
ham  Young's  family  at  dinner  is  very  similar  to  that  at  a 
country  boarding-house,  when  the  gentlemen  are  all  away 
at  business  in  town,  and  the  wives  and  children  are  left 
together.  At  a  short  table,  running  across  the  head  of  the 
long  dining-room,  Brigham  sits  with  his  favorite  wife  by  his 
side.  In  the  days  when  I  first  used  to  be  at  the  Lion 
House,  as  a  partial  guest  and  partial  resident,  Emmeline 
Free  occupied  this  place  of  honor ;  but  after  Amelia's  ad- 
vent, poor,  loving  Emeline  was  thrust  aside.  When  Brig- 
ham  brings  guests  to  dine  with  him,  they  have  seats  at  this 
table  also.  At  a  long  table,  running  lengthwise  of  the 
room,  all  the  other  wives  are  seated,  each  with  her  children 
about  her.  At  the  sound  of  the  large  dinner-bell,  they  all 
file  in,  seat  themselves  quietly,  grace  is  said  by  the  "pre- 


528  HELP    YOURSELF,    LADIES. 

siding  patriarch"  from  his  table,  and  the  meal  goes  on. 
The  family  table  is  plainly  spread,  and  supplied  with  the 
very  simplest  fare,  while  the  smaller  one  is  laden  with 
every  delicacy  that  the  markets  will  afford.  These,  how- 
ever, are  only  for  the  President  and  his  favorite  wife,  and 
the  rest  of  the  family  must  be  satisfied  merely  to  look  at 
them,  and  enjoy  the  dainties  bv  proxy. 

A  very  amusing  incident  took  place  once  at  this  family 
dinner.  One  of  the  wives,  —  not  usually  considered  among 
the  most  spirited  ones,  —  who,  like  all  the  rest,  had  sub- 
missively taken  the  food  which  had  been  set  before  her  for 
years,  was  one  day  seized  by  the  spirit  of  discontent.  She 
had  taken  a  fancy  that  she  should  like  some  of  a  particular 
dish  which  graced  her  husband's  table.  She  did  not  ex- 
press her  wish,  but  quietly  rising  from-  her  place,  went 
straight  to  the  other  table,  helped  herself  to  the  coveted 
article,  and  returning  as  quietly  as  she  came,  took  her  seat, 
and  resumed  her  meal,  amidst  looks  of  consternation  from 
the  other  wives,  and  of  indignant  amazement  from  her 
husband.  Surprise  made  him  absolutely  speechless  for  the 
moment ;  but  I  fancy  she  was  properly  reproved  in  due 
time,  for  she  never  attempted  a  repetition  of  the  act. 

When  strangers  are  invited  to  dine,  the  tables  are  more 
uniform  in  their  appointments.  The  usual  contrast  between 
the  one  at  which  the  Prophet  and  his  favorite  sit,  and  that 
around  which  the  other  wives  and  their  families  are  gath- 
ered, is  not  nearly  so  marked.  There  is  an  air  of  abun- 
dance, and  even  of  luxury,  on  these  occasions,  which  gives 
the  Prophet  the  reputation,  among  his  guests,  of  being, 
what  is  called  in  New  England  parlance,  w  a  good  pro- 
vider." 

If  only  some  of  these  deluded  visitors  could  accidentally 
happen  into  the  same  room  at  a  similar  meal,  they  would 
see  the  true  state  of  affairs ;  but  Brigham's  family  are  never 
visited  accidentally.  Indeed,  it  is  but  a  short  time  since 
visitors  have  been  allowed  in  the  Lion  House  at  all,  for  the 


A   STRANGE    FAMILY    GATHERING. 


Prophet  has  always  maintained  the  strictest  privacy  regard- 
Ing  his  family. 

After  dinner,  they  see  no  more  of  him  until  "  family  pray- 
ers." At  seven  o'clock  the  bell  is  rung,  and  the  wives  and 
children  gather  in  the  large  Lion  House  parlor.  Not  only 
are  the  wives  who  live  in  the  house  expected  to  be  present, 
but  those  who  have  homes  outside  are  also  supposed  to 
attend  evening  worship.  Not  all  of  them  avail  themselves 
of  this  privilege,  and  the  outside  attendance  is  somewhat 


FAMILY  PRAYERS  AT  "  THE  LION  HOUSE/' 

irregular.  I  used  to  go  whenever  I  felt  inclined,  which 
was  very  seldom ;  and  the  longer  I  was  a  member  of  the 
family,  the  more  infrequent  became  my  attendance. 

Brigham  sits  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  at  a  large  table, 
on  which  is  an  ornamental  "astral"  lamp.  The  wives  and 
their  respective  families  are  ranged  around  the  room,  in  the 
order  in  which  they  appear  at  the  table.  When  all  are 
seated,  Brigham  reads  a  few  passages  of  Scripture,  all 
kneel  down,  and  he  makes  a  long  prayer. 
34 


530 

He  was  formerly  said  to  have  a  special  "gift"  for  prayer, 
and  he  has  not  lost  it;  but  somehow  his  prayers  never 
inspired  me  with  veneration.  He  prays  with  great  unc- 
tion, and,  I  suppose,  unconsciously  to  himself,  some  of  his 
patronizing  manner  slips  into  his  appeals  to  the  throne  of 
Divine  Grace,  until  his  petitions  always  seemed  to  me  to  be 
very  much  like  advice  to  the  Deity  rather  than  entreaties 
for  the  Divine  blessing.  If  he  chances  to  be  in  a  good 
humor,  he  chats  a  little  while  before  leaving  the  room ;  but 
if  not,  he  goes  away  directly  prayers  are  over,  and  that  is 
the  last  that  is  seen  of  him  by  the  household  until  the  next 
day  at  dinner. 

Some  of  his  children  are  almost  strangers  to  him.  They 
know  nothing  of  fatherly  affection,  and  while  they  feel  that 
they  have,  socially,  a  sort  of  prestige,  by  being  so  closely 
related  to  him,  they  feel,  personally,  only  a  dread  and  fear 
of  him.  He  never  invites  their  confidences,  nor  shows 
himself  interested  in  their  affairs ;  all  this  would  be  quite 
incompatible  with  his  ideas  of  prophetic  dignity. 

The  Lion  House,  where  most  of  the  wives  live,  is  a  long, 
three-storied  house,  at  the  very  left  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Prophet's  Block.  It  receives  its  name  from  the  stone  figure 
of  a  lion  crouching  over  the  front  portico.  -There  is  a  stone 
basement ;  then  the  main  building,  of  wood,  with  peaked 
gable,  narrow  pointed  Gothic  windows,  and  steep  roof.  In 
the  basement  are  the  dining-room,  kitchen,  laundry,  and 
cellar.  The  parlor  is  on  the  principal  floor,  and  the  rest 
of  the  house  is  taken  up  by  the  apartments  of  the  wives, 
each  wife  having  a  greater  or  less  number  of  rooms  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  her  special  family. 

Next  to  the  Lion  House  is  a  low  building,  which  is  used 
as  the  "Tithing-Office."  Here  all  the  clerks  have  their 
desks,  and  receive  visits  from  the  Saints  who  come  on 
church  or  personal  business.  Adjoining  that  is  Brigham's 
private  office,  where  he  receives  his  own  visitors.  At  the 
extreme  right  is  the  Bee-Hive  House,  a  large  building, 


CHANGING    VIEWS.  531 

which  has  always  been  used  as  Governor  Young's  official 
residence. 

Lucy  Decker  has  always  had  the  care  of  it,  and  has 
lived  there  with  her  children.  No  wife  was  ever  permitted 
to  share  her  husband's  apartments  there,  until  the  reign 
of  Amelia  was  opened.  She  has  lived  there  since  her 
marriage,  and  has  been  virtually  the  recognized  "head  of 
the  harem."  It  is  extremely  probable  that  when  her  new 
house  is  fully  finished,  the  Bee-Hive  House  will  be  the 
official  residence  only  in  name,  and  the  household  there 
will  see  less  of  him  than  ever. 

Polygamist,  as  he  professes  to  be,  he  is,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Amelia,  rapidly  becoming  a  monogamist,  in  all 
except  the  name. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 


BRIGHAM   AS   A   FARMER.— MY   NEW  HOUSE.  — TAKING 

BOARDERS. 

One  Year  after  Marriage.  —  Life  at  the  Farm.  —  House-keeping  Extraor- 
dinary. —  Bread  and  Milk  Dinners.  —  Brigham  Tries  to  Catch  us  Nap- 
ping. —  Hours  of  Labor. —  Dejection.  —  My  New  House.  —  Parlor 
Stairs.  —  "  Wells  Wanted."  —  My  Mother  receives  Notice  to  Quit.  — 
My  Elder  Brother  Pays  her  Board.  —  Failing  Faith.  —  Taking  Board- 
ers. —  The  Prophet's  Contemptible  Meanness.  —  Brigham's  Neglect.  — 
Rev.  Mr.  Stratton.  — I  open  my  Heart.  —  The  New  Religion.  —  Woman's 
Sphere.  —  First  Glimpses  of  the  Outer  World.  —  Forming  Resolutions. 

FTER    we    had     been 
married  a  year,  Brig- 
ham     decided    that    I 
should    go     to    "The 
Farm"    to    live.      He 
has       several       farms 
among  his  landed  pos- 
sessions, but  this  one, 
which  supplies  the  Salt 
Lake  City  family  with 
milk,  butter,  cheese,  and  vege- 
tables, is  always  spoken  of  as 
"  The  Farm."     It  is  about  four 
miles    from    the    city,    within 
pleasant  driving  distance,  but 
is  by  no  means  a  desirable  place 
of  residence. 

Every  one  of  the  wives  who  had  been  compelled  to  live 
there  had  become  confirmed  invalids  before  they  left  the 
place,  broken  down  by  overwork  ;  and  the  prospect  was  not 
a  pleasant  one  to  me,  never  strong,  and  unused  to  hard, 
continuous  labor,  such  as  I  knew  I  should  be  obliged  to 


TOILING  FOR  BRIGHAM. 


AWAY   FROM   CIVILIZATION.  533 

perform  as  mistress  of  the  farm-house.  But,  as  it  was  my 
husband's  will,  I  went,  without  a  word  of  protest.  I  had 
one  bit  of  comfort  —  my  mother  was  to  accompany  me. 

Outwardly,  my  new  home  had  a  lovely  appearance,  and 
Brigham  never  tired  of  descanting  on  its  beauties  to  any 
one  who  would  listen  to  him.  These  expressions  of  admi- 
ration would  have  been  reasonable  enough,  had  not  the 
eulogistic  owner  insisted  on  its  comfort  and  convenience,  as 
well  as  on  its  beauty ;  but  he  was  just  as  earnest  in  recom- 
mending it  for  those  virtues  which  it  did  not  possess,  as  he 
was  in  lauding  it  for  its  pleasant  exterior.  And,  indeed, 
with  its  somewhat  irregular  architecture,  its  wide  verandas, 
vine-draped  and  shaded,  its  broad,  low  windows,  and 
beautiful  surroundings,  it  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  looking 
places  that  one  would  care  to  see. 

It  is  built  after  one  of  the  Prophet's  own  plans,  and  he 
says  that  it  cost  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  Possibly  it 
did  ;  but  I  am  certain  that,  with  the  same  amount  of  money, 
I  could  build  a  house  that  should  vastly  exceed  that  in  ex- 
ternal beauty  and  interior  appointments. 

The  walls  are  very  thin,  and  the  sun  and  heat  penetrated 
in  summer,  and  the  cold  in  the  winter,  making  it  at  once 
the  warmest  and  the  coldest  house  I  ever  saw.  That  might 
have  been  a  recommendation,  had  the  temperature  been 
regulated  to  suit  the  seasons ;  but,  unfortunately  for  our 
comfort,  it  was  hot  when  we  wished  it  cool,  and  vice  versa. 
My  mother  hazarded  an  opinion  to  this  effect  in  Brigham's 
hearing,  and  he  was  greatly  scandalized  by  it.  He  in- 
formed her  that  she  had  been  so  long  away  from  civiliza- 
tion that  she  was  not  a  proper  judge  of  what  a  house  ought 
to  be  !  They  both  left  "  civilization  "  at  the  same  time. 

Housekeepers  will  understand  something  of  its  inconven- 
ience, when  I  tell  them  that  the  stairs  leading  to  the  second 
story  went  directly  from  the  parlor ;  that  all  the  sleeping 
rooms  were  up  stairs,  and  that,  in  order  to  reach  them,  we 
had  to  pass  through  a  dining-room  thirty  feet,  and  a  parlor 


534  AN   AMIABLE    VISITOR. 

forty  feet  in  length;  that  hired  men,  family,  and  visitors 
were  all  compelled  to  use  the  same  staircase.  If  any 
member  of  the  family  was  ill,  everything  needed  for  the 
invalid  had  to  be  carried  from  the  kitchen  to  the  sick  room, 
rendering  the  care  of  the  invalid  tiresome  in  the  extreme. 

The  duties  of  housekeeper  at  "  the  Farm "  were  neither 
slight  nor  easily  performed.  There  were  butter  and  cheese 
to  make  from  forty  cows,  all  the  other  dairy  work  to  attend 
to,  besides  cooking  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  men,  including 
the  farm  laborers  and  the  workmen  from  the  cocoonery.  I 
know  at  least  six  women  who  have  been  completely  broken 
down  under  the  work  at  the  farm-house,  and  neither  my 
mother  nor  myself  have  ever  recovered  from  the  illness 
contracted  there  from  overwork.  My  mother  made  the 
butter  and  cheese,  and  took  charge  of  the  cooking.  I 
assisted  in  the  latter,  took  care  of  the  house,  did  the  wash- 
ing and  ironing,  and  was  allowed  the  extreme  pleasure  of 
carrying  the  farm  supplies  to  the  other  wives  every  week. 

We  had  occasional  visits  from  Brighami  He  was  very 
fond  of  coming  unexpectedly,  and  at  all  sorts  of  irregular 
hours,  hoping,  evidently,  that  some  time  he  might  catch  us 
napping.  He  was  so  addicted  to  fault-finding,  and  so  easily 
displeased,  that  we  took  no  pleasure  in  his  visits,  and  I 
grew  to  be  positively  unhappy  every  time  his  approach  was 
heralded.  If  his  coming  had  brought  any  comfort,  I  should 
have  looked  eagerly  forward  to  his  visits ;  as  it  was,  I 
dreaded  them,  and  grew  ill  with  nervousness  and  appre- 
hension every  time  he  came  to  us. 

I  remember  one  day,  when  he  visited  us.  he  came  about 
noon,  just  as  mother  had  placed  dinner  for  the  workmen 
upon  the  table.  He  walked  up  and  down  the  dining-room, 
surveying  every  dish  with  a  critical  eye,  until  we  began  to 
fear  that  something  must  be  terribly  amiss.  He  professed 
to  be  such  a  connoisseur  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  cui- 
sine, and  was  so  frank,  to  say  the  least,  in  the  expression 
of  his  opinions,  and  so  careless  of  the  terms  which  he  em- 


HARD  WORK  AND  POOR  FARE.  535 

ployed,  that  we  dreaded  the  remarks  which  were  almost 
certain  to  follow  this  critical  scrutiny. 

After  the  men  were  seated  at  the  table,  Brigham  called 
my  mother  into  the  adjoining  room.  "You  cook  too  good 
food  for  those  men,"  he  said;  "it  is  too  rich  for  their 
stomachs." 

"  I  wish  to  give  them  something  which  they  can  eat,  and 
I  try  to  do  so,"  replied  she.  "They  work  hard,  and  I 
surely  can  do  no  less  than  give  them  palatable  food ;  yet  if 
you  do  not  approve  of  my  manner  of  providing  for  them,  I 
will  make  any  change  you  may  suggest,  if  I  can  satisfy 
the  men  with  the  fare." 

"  It  don't  make  any  difference  whether  they  are  satisfied 
or  not,"  was  the  answer.  "  I  say  it  is  healthier  for  them  to 
have  bread  and  milk,  and  you  must  give  it  to  them." 

"  Shall  I  give  them  this,  and  nothing  else,  three  times  a 
day?  "  inquired  she. 

"Well,  once  in  a  while  you  may  set  on  a  little  butter, 
too,"  was  the  generous  reply. 

"  But  are  they  to  have  no  meat?  " 

"  Perhaps  I  will  allow  them  a  little  occasionally,  but  they 
are  much  better  off  without  it." 

This  is  a  specimen  of  the  interference  to  which  we  were 
constantly  subjected. 

At  another  time,  he  told  my  mother  that  six  o'clock  was 
too  early  an  hour  to  give  the  men  their  supper  in  summer. 
It  was  a  waste  of  time,  he  said ;  they  ought  to  work  in  the 
fields  two  or  three  hours  longer,  at  the  least.  My  mother 
reminded  him  that  after  supper  there  were  the  forty  cows 
and  other  stock  to  be  cared  for.  He  said  that  could  as  well 
be  done  after  dark  as  before ;  there  was  no  danger  of  the 
men  hurting  themselves  with  work ;  nobody  ever  did,  that 
was  in  his  employ.  They  all  were  leagued  together,  men 
and  women  alike,  to  swindle  him,  and  his  wives  were  as 
bad  as  the  rest. 

My  mother  told  the  overseer  what  Brigham  had  said,  and 


5  3^  PROPHETIC    STAIRS . 

he  replied  that,  even  for  the  Prophet,  he  should  not  ask  the 
men  to  do  another  hour's  work  a  day ;  they  were  over- 
worked already,  and  they  should  leave  off  work  at  six 
o'clock  each  day,  as  they  always  had  done.  That  ended 
the  matter,  and  the  tea  hour  was  unchanged. 

I  lived  here  for  three  years  and  a  half,  —  long,  uneventful 
years,  —  and  how  I  hated  my  life  !  It  was  dull,  joyless, 
oppressed,  and  I  looked  longingly  back  to  the  dear  old  days 
at  Cottonwood,  the  restful  days  that  never  could  come  again. 
Even  the  love  I  bore  my  children  was  changed.  It  was  no 
less  tender,  no  less  deep,  but  it  was  less  hopeful  and  more 
apathetic.  I  clung  to  them  in  a  kind  of  despair,  and  I 
dreaded  the  days,  which  must  inevitably  come,  when  my 
clinging  arms  could  no  longer  infold  them,  when  my  love 
alone  would  cease  to  satisfy. 

I  could  not  tell  my  feelings  to  my  mother,  for,  although 
she  was  as  sensitive  to  Brigham's  captious  fault-finding  as  I 
was,  habit  was  very  strong  upon  her,  and  she  could  never 
separate  him  from  her  religion. 

At  the  end  of  the  three  years  and  a  half,  he  told  me  one 
day  that  he  was  building  a  house  for  me  in  town,  which  he 
intended  to  have  me  remove  to  as  soon  as  possible.  It  was 
out  of  no  feeling  of  regard  for  me,  or  care  for  my  comfort, 
which  influenced  him ;  he  simply  wished  to  put  some  one 
else  in  the  farm-house,  and  it  was  necessary  that  I  should 
move,  to  make  room  for  the  new  comer.  I  knew  all  this 
perfectly  well,  yet  I  was  so  happy  at  the  thought  of  getting 
out  of  all  the  drudgery  of  the  past  years,  that  I  was  per- 
fectly indifferent  to  the  motives  which  induced  him  to  make 
the  change  for  me. 

When  he  told  me  of  the  house,  I  said  I  had  one  request 
to  make  of  him,  which  I  hoped  he  would  grant. 

"What  is  it?"  inquired  he. 

"  Are  there  to  be  chambers  in  my  new  house? " 

"Yes,  certainly." 

"  Then  will  you  please  not  to  build  the  stairs  from  the 


MY    NEW    HOUSE. ANNOYING    MY    NEIGHBORS.        537 

parlor.  Let  them  go  out  of  any  other  room  in  the  house, 
but  do  not  disfigure  that  one.  Besides  being  ugly,"  I  con- 
tinued, "it  is  inconvenient,  and  excessively  annoying  to  be 
obliged  to  pass  through  the  best  room  at  all  times,  and  on 
every  occasion." 

"You  can  have  stairs  out  of  every  room  in  the  house,  if 
you  want  them,"  was  the  reply. 

I  was  quite  satisfied,  for  I  thought  that  equivalent  to  a 
promise  that  my  parlor  should  be  left  as  I  wished  it.  He 
told  me  that  he  was  spending  five  thousand  dollars  on  my 
new  house,  and,  from  his  description,  I  fancied  it  must  be 
a  very  charming  place. 

Visitors  to  Salt  Lake  City  are  always  taken  to  see  "  Ann 
Eliza's  house,"  and  much  is  made  of  the  fact  that  it  was 
built  expressly  for  my  use ;  but  the  following  equally  im- 
portant facts  are  carefully  concealed  :  — 

Taking  a  view  of  it  from  the  street,  it  was  ,an  exceedingly 
pretty  cottage,  with  an  air  of  cosiness  about  it,  which  fre- 
quently called  out  remarks  from  passers  by,  who  thought 
"  Sister  Ann  Eliza  very  fortunate  in  her  home."  Inside  it 
was  very  inconvenient,  and  badly  arranged,  being  built 
after  the  stereotyped  prophetic  plan.  The  rooms  were  very 
small,  the  kitchen  being  scarcely  large  enough  for  a  doll's 
house,  measuring  ten  feet  one  way,  by  six  feet  the  other. 
And  yet  in  this  room  all  the  washing,  ironing,  and  cooking 
for  the  family  were  to  be  done.  Then,  to  my  bitter  disap- 
pointment, the  only  stairs  in  the  house  ascended  from  the 
parlor !  That,  too,  in  the  face  of  my  expressed  wish. 

There  were  no  facilities  for  obtaining  water,  and  we  were 
compelled  to  depend  upon  our  neighbors'  wells.  Naturally 
enough,  this  annoyed  them,  and  they  used  frequently  to  say 
that  Brigham  Young  was  abundantly  able  to  provide  a  well, 
and  they  did  not  care  to  furnish  water  for  his  family,  or  any 
portion  of  it.  Speaking  to  him  concerning  these  matters 
was  worse  than  useless,  for  I  never  could  influence  him  in 
the  slightest,  while  every  suggestion  which  I  ventured  to 


538  BRIGHAM'S  MEANNESS. 

make  irritated  him  extremely ;  so  I  held  my  peace,  after  one 
or  two  attempts  to  change  things  a  little,  so  that  the  house 
should  be  more  convenient. 

I  had  scarcely  got  settled  in  my  new  home,  when  he  told 
me  that  my  mother  must  leave  me ;  he  could  not  afford  to 
support  her  any  longer.  This,  too,  when  she  had  worked 
herself  ill  in  his  service,  and  had  asked  no  reward  for  her 
labors  except  the  privilege  of  staying  with  me,  her  only 
daughter ;  the  child  from  whom  she  had  never  been  sep- 
arated for  any  great  length  of  time. 

I  cried  bitterly  after  my  husband  had  left  me,  but  I  would 
not  tell  my  mother  what  he  had  said.  I  knew  she  would 
be  sorely  grieved,  and  that  she  would  go  away  at  once. 
Her  independent  spirit  would  not  permit  her  to  remain  a 
pensioner  on  this  selfish  man's  unwilling  bounty. 

I  could  not  live  without  her.  I  leaned  on  her  in  piteous 
dependence,  and  looked  to  her  for  all  the  comfort  I  had 
outside  of  my  children.  In  addition  to  the  dread  and  dis- 
like which  had  grown  up  in  my  heart  toward  my  husband, 
I  was  beginning  to  lose  faith  in  the  religion  which  he  rep- 
resented. His  petty  meannesses,  his  deceit,  his  unscrupu- 
lousness,  his  open  disregard  for  the  truth,  all  were  so  utterly 
at  variance  with  the  right,  that  I  could  no  longer  look  upon 
him  as  a  spiritual  guide  and  director. 

I  looked  about  me,  and  on  every  side  I  saw  so  much  of 
misery,  that  I  felt  it  must  be  a  false  faith  indeed,  which 
brought  such  unhappiness  to  its  followers.  Yet  I  knew  no 
other  religion,  and  I  groped  about  in  a  state  of  spiritual 
bewilderment,  tortured  by  many  conflicting  doubts. 

I  did  not  dream,  then,  of  trying  to  get  out  of  it;  my 
only  thought  was  how  to  live  with  the  least  misery,  and  my 
best  comfort  was  to  keep  my  mother. 

Finding  that  I  did  not  tell  her,  after  repeated  orders  from 
him  to  do  so,  he  threatened  to  send  her  away  himself.  In 
great  distress  of  mind,  I  went  to  my  elder  brother,  who 
offered  to  pay  me  five  dollars  a  week  for  my  mother's  board, 


A   FRIEND    IN    REV.    MR.    STRATTON.  539 

and  on  those  terms  Brigham  expressed  his  willingness  that 
she  should  remain  with  me. 

I  now  began  to  find  it  difficult  to  make  him  provide  even 
the  commonest  necessaries  of  life  for  me,  and  I  plainly  saw 
that  I  must  take  things  into  my  own  hands,  and  earn  my 
own  support,  and  that  of  my  children.  I  asked  permission 
of  my  husband  to  take  boarders,  and  he  granted  my  re- 
quest with  amazing  readiness ;  so  I  went  to  work  in  good 
earnest,  and  soon  succeeded  in  filling  my  house.  As  it 
chanced,  all  my  boarders  were  Gentiles.  Brigham  knew 
this  perfectly  well,  yet  he  did  not  seem  in  the  least  con- 
cerned about  it.  Indeed,  of  so  little  importance  was  I,  or 
my  actions,  that  he  never  troubled  himself  to  come  near 
me  after  he  had  given  his  consent  that  I  should  support 
myself  in  the  way  I  considered  the  easiest.  The  last  time 
that  he  ever  visited  me  was  months  before  I  left  my  home. 

Previous  to  the  time  of  receiving  these  new  inmates  into 
my  family,  I  had  one  acquaintance  outside  the  Mormon 
Church.  This  was  Mr.  Howard  Sawyer,  a  Gentile  gentle- 
man, to  whom  I  was  introduced  while  visiting  at  Mrs.  Ra- 
chel Grant's.  Some  time  after  I  had  commenced  my  work 
of  self-support,  I  met  him  again  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Na- 
thaniel V.  Felt,  a  Mormon.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Stratton,  pas- 
tor of  the  Methodist  church  in  Salt  Lake,  was  with  him, 
and  he  introduced  us  at  once.  He  had  previously  told  Mr. 
Stratton  that  I  spoke  very  freely  on  the  subject  of  Mormon- 
ism,  and  that  he  need  not  hesitate  to  question  me,  as  he 
would  find  me  very  frank  and  honest  in  the  expression  of 
my  opinions. 

Mr.  Stratton  was  the  first  representative  of  a  religion 
outside  the  Mormon  belief  whom  I  had  ever  met,  and  I  lis- 
tened anxiously  to  every  word  he  said,  hoping  to  find  some 
ray  of  light  and  cheer.  As  he  talked,  I  felt  very  strongly 
drawn  toward  the  world  which  he  and  Mr.  Sawyer  repre- 
sented, and  I  longed  to  know  more  concerning  it.  I  was 
much  impressed  by  this  interview ;  and  at  its  close,  Mr. 


54°         DEEPER    DESPAIR. LONGING    FOR    COMFORT. 


Stratton  expressed  a  wish  to  see  me  again,  and  to  have 
his  wife  meet  me.  I  was  struck  by  his  very  manner  of 
speaking  of  her.  I  had  never  heard  a  woman  referred  to 
in  so  deferential  a  tone  before,  and  I  wondered  at  it. 

As  the  days  went  by,  I  grew  more  miserable,  and  longed 
inexpressibly  for  the  comfort,  which  neither  my  people  nor 
their  religion  —  for  it  had  ceased  to  be  mine  —  could  give 
me.  I  remembered  Mr.  Stratton's  kindly  words,  and  I 
ventured  to  send  him  a  message  by  Mr.  Graham,  one  of 
my  boarders,  asking  if  I  might  see  him  and  his  wife,  and 
talk  with  them. 

An  urgent  invitation  to  visit  them  came  by  way  of  speedy 

reply  ;  and  in  response, 
I  spent  an  entire  after- 
noon at  their  house. 
They  received  me  so 
cordially  that  my  heart 
went  out  in  love  toward 
them  at  once.  I  talked 
to  them  unreservedly, 
and  opened  my  soul  to 
them.  I  told  them  of 
my  childhood,  my  re- 
ligious training,  my 
unhappy  domestic  ex- 
perience, and  all  the 
occurrences  of  my 

RELATING  MY  STORY  TO  MR.  AND  MRS.  STRATTON.  .  J 

marriage    to   Bngham 

Young.  They  listened  with  earnest  sympathy,  and  when 
I  finished  my  story  were  overflowing  with  words  of  pity 
and  consolation.  I  shall  never  forget  them  in  my  life. 
They  were  the  sweetest  words  which  had  ever  been  spoken 
to  me,  for  they  helped  me  to  see  the  way  out  of  bondage. 
It  was  the  first  glimpse  I  had  ever  had  of  domestic  life 
outside  of  polygamy,  and  the  deference  which  the  husband 
showed  to  the  wife,  the  confidence  she  displayed  in  him, 


RISING    HOPES. — NEW    RESOLUTIONS.  54! 

and  her  perfect  ease  in  his  presence,  were  very  strange  to 
me.  The  equality  on  which  they  seemed  to  stand  puzzled 
me.  I  could  not  understand  this  religion  which  regarded 
woman  as  an  independent  soul,  with  a  free  will,  and  capa- 
bility of  judgment.  The  inferiority  of  women  is  so  strongly 
insisted  upon  by  the  Mormon  doctrine  that  I  supposed  it 
must  be  the  same  everywhere,  and  the  first  view  which  I 
got  of  this  sweet  household  was  a  revelation  to  me. 

I  carried  home  a  braver  and  stronger  heart  than  had  beat 
in  my  bosom  for  many  a  long  day.  I  went  about  my  daily 
duties  as  quietly  as  though  there  were  not  a  resolution  form- 
ing in  my  mind  which  was  speedily  to  overturn  my  whole 
life,  and  bring  me  into  a  new  and  strange  existence. 

Meanwhile  my  destiny  was  working  itself  out  in  a  way  I 
knew  not,  turning  my  feet  into  unexplored  paths ;  and  I 
did  not  yet  see  where  I  was  straying,  nor  what  the  near 
future  was  holding  in  store  for  me. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 


BREAKING   THE   YOKE.  — I   LEAVE   MY   HOME. 

The  Workings  of  Destiny.  —  A  Noble  Lawyer.  —  A  Small  Stove  and  a 
Large  Family.  —  Last  Interview  with  Brigham.  —  A  Startling  Proposal. 
—  Sickness  and  Gentile  Care.  —  Brigham's  Police.  —  A  Moral  Thun- 
derbolt.—  My  Third  Baptism.  —  A  Religious  Farce. — I  Decide  to 
Escape.  —  A  Memorable  Day.  —  Removing  in  Forty  Minutes.  —  The 
Walker  House.  —  Among  the  Gentiles.  —  A  Perilous  Situation.  —  New 
Hopes.  —  Interviewed  by  Reporters.  —  Unwelcome  Notoriety. — A 
Touching  Letter.  —  A  Visit  from  my  Father.  —  The  Paper  War.  —  Over- 
shooting the  Mark.  —  Sueing  for  a  Divorce.  —  A  Tempting  Offer,  $15,000 
and  my  Freedom.  —  The  Prophet  Astonished. 


FTER  a  person  has 
made  up  his  or  her 
mind  to  take  any  step 
in  a  new  direction,  it 
seems  as  though  every 
event  of  the  life  points 
the  same  way.  It  is  al- 
most as  if  decision  had 
been  forced  upon  him, 
and  the  course  of  ac- 
tion was  inevitable. 

It  was  but  a  very  few 
days  after  my  first 
memorable  visit  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stratton, 
when  I  received  in  my 
family  a  gentleman  and 
his  wife  by  the  name  of  Hagan.  Mr.  Hagan  was  a 
lawyer  of  considerable  repute  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  I 
found  both  himself  and  his  wife  very  pleasant  inmates  of 
my  home. 

My  family  had  increased  so,  that  it  was  quite  impossible 
to  do  the  necessary  amount  of  cooking  on  the  very  small 


ALONE  AT  THE  HOTEL. 


MY    LAST   VISIT    TO    BRIGHAM.  543 

stove  which  was  in  my  "toy"  kitchen.  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  ask  Brigham  for  another,  since,  as  I  was  working 
hard  to  support  myself,  he  ought  to  be  willing  to  assist  me 
to  this  extent. 

I  called  one  day  at  his  office, — the  last  call  I  ever  made 
him,  by  the  way,  —  and  preferred  my  request.  He  looked 
at  me  for  a  moment  in  evident  surprise. 

"I  believe  you  are  keeping  boarders." 

"Yes,  I  am,"  was  my  reply ;  "and  that  is  why  I  want  the 
stove.  I  cannot  do  the  necessary  cooking  on  the  one  I 
have." 

"  If  you  want  a  cooking-stove,  you'll  get  it  yourself.  I've 
put  you  into  a  good  house,  and  you  must  see  to  the  rest.  I 
cannot  afford  to  have  so  many  people  calling  on  me  for 
every  little  thing  they  happen  to  think  they  want." 

I  was  much  distressed  and  disturbed  after  this  interview. 
I  had  known  that  I  must  take  care  of  myself  for  some  time, 
and  I  had  gone  about  it  bravely  and  willingly,  and  I  felt 
that  this  rebuff  was  in  every  sense  undeserved.  Never, 
during  my  whole  married  life,  had  I  made  one  unnecessary 
request;  and,  however  much  I  might  have  "cost  him,"  as 
he  used  to  say  in  speaking  of  the  very  small  amount  he 
spent  for  me,  I  felt  that  I  had  more  than  repaid  in  hard, 
unceasing  labor.  If  he  does  not  wish  to  support  us,  why 
does  he  place  us  in  the  position  to  expect  support  from  him, 
was  my  bitter  thought.  I  did  not  seek  the  position  of 
wife  to  him  ;  it  was  forced  upon  me ;  and  I  was  now  com- 
pelled to  endure  the  indignities  which  he  chose  to  heap 
upon  me. 

Mrs.  Hagan's  kindly  eyes  discovered  my  distress,  and 
she  instantly  begged  my  confidence.  I  gave  it  unreserv- 
edly and  fully.  She  asked  leave  to  tell  her  husband,  and 
he,  indignant  at  the  treatment  I  was  receiving,  consulted 
with  other  lawyers,  and  all  agreed  in  advising  me  to  bring 
a  suit  against  Brigham  for  divorce  and  alimony. 

Mr.  Hagan  assured  me  that  if  I  did  not  gain  the  suit  I 


544  A   STARTLING    PROPOSITION. — DARK    DAYS. 

should  have  found  a  way  of  getting  out  of  my  life  in  Mor- 
monism  ;  that  it  would  be  a  test  case,  showing  how  the  po- 
lygamous wives  of  Mormons  stood  in  the  law,  and  that  I 
would  find  ready  sympathy  from  the  outside  world. 

This  proposal,  although  it  startled  me,  came  at  a  time 
when  I  was  more  ready  to  entertain  it  than  I  should  have 
been  at  any  other  period.  My  mother  had  discovered  Brig- 
ham's  feelings  toward  her,  and  had  left  my  house  to  return 
to  my  father's  farm  at  Cotton  wood,  and  I  was  grieving  over 
her  absence  ;  still,  had  she  been  with  me,  I  should  have  said 
nothing  to  her  on  this  subject ;  for,  although  she  was  losing 
confidence  in  Brigham  Young,  she  still  clung  to  her  re- 
ligion, while  I  had  not  one  spark  of  faith  in  it  remaining. 

In  the  mean  time  Mr.  Hagan  went  to  California  for  a 
short  trip,  begging  me  to  decide  upon  the  matter  before  his 
return.  The  more  I  thought  upon  the  subject  the  more 
perplexed  I  grew,  until  I  fairly  broke  down  under  the 
weight  of  nervous  anxiety,  and  became  very  ill.  My  board- 
ers took  all  the  care  of  me  through  my  sickness.  I  was 
entirely  dependent  on  them  for  every  care.  Not  one  mem- 
ber of  Brigham's  family  came  near  me,  and  I  was  as  ut- 
terly neglected  by  them  as  though  they  had  not  known  of 
my  existence. 

Those  days  of  struggle  were  dark  indeed,  and  oftentimes  I 
did  not  know  which  way  to  turn.  Perils  and  miseries  faced 
me  on  every  side.  I  was  in  doubt  as  to  which  was  the  true 
religion,  or  whether  any  were  true.  The  question  fre- 
quently arose,  What  would  become  of  me  if  I  apostatized? 
My  church  taught  me  that  I  should  be  given  over  to  eternal 
damnation.  And  although  I  had  ceased  to  regard  my 
church  and  its  teachings,  yet  I  had  a  slight  feeling  of  su- 
perstition left,  and  in  my  weak  state  I  could  but  portray  to 
myself  the  horrors  of  my  situation  if  what  it  taught  were 
really  true. 

At  this  juncture,  I  received  a  visit  from  the  Ward  Teach- 
ers, whose  duty  it  is  to  visit  each  family  in  the  city,  and  ex- 


MY    THIRD    BAPTISM.  — A   RELIGIOUS    FARCE.          545 

amine  the  different  members  as  to  their  spiritual  welfare. 
They  are  an  inferior  order  of  ecclesiastics,  who  serve  the 
various  purposes  of  religious  instructors  for  the  weak  and 
ignorant,  revenue  officers  to  gather  tithing,  and  general 
police  to  spy  out  and  report  irregularities  or  weakness  of 
faith  among  the  brethren. 

The  spokesman  began  by  asking,  "  Sister  Young,  do  you 
enjoy  the  spirit  of  our  religion  ?  " 

"No,  sir,  I  do  not"  was  my  reply. 

If  a  thunderbolt  had  fallen  among  them  they  could  not 
have  been  more  surprised.  They  argued  with  me,  coun- 
selled me,  prayed  with  me,  and  finally  I  concluded  to  make 
one  more  attempt  to  cling  to  Mormonism.  They  begged 
me  to  be  rebaptized,  and  I  consented,  although  I  had  little 
faith  in  the  ordinance. 

Accompanied  by  a  friend,  I  went  to  the  Endowment 
House,  where  they  have  a  font  in  which  this  rite  is  per- 
formed. We  waited  two  hours  for  those  in  charge  to  get 
the  names  and  ages  of  a  lot  of  Danes,  who  were  to  be  bap- 
tized for  their  dead  relatives.  My  patience  and  very  doubt- 
ful faith  were  about  exhausted.  At  last  they  were  ready, 
and  I,  as  a  wife  of  the  President,  was  honored  by  being 
first  taken.  The  men  officiating  were  talking  and  laughing 
as  if  engaged  in  an  every-day  affair,  while  I  was  trying  to 
feel  solemn  and  to  exercise  faith,  —  a  signal  failure,  I  assure 
you.  I  was  led  into  the  water  by  a  great  strapping  fellow, 
who  mumbled  a  few  words  over  me  and  plunged  me  in.  I 
was  taken  from  the  water  gasping  for  breath,  and  placed  in 
a  chair.  Some  more  words  were  spoken  over  me,  and  the 
farce  ended.  Everything  was  done  in  such  a  business-like 
manner,  with  an  utter  absence  of  anything  of  a  devotional 
nature,  that  I  was  thoroughly  disgusted,  and  made  no  fur- 
ther effort  to  believe  in  Mormonism  or  its  ordinances. 

Mr.  Hagan,  on  his  return,  found  me  fully  determined  on 
following  his  advice.     I  was  ready  to  renounce  my  religion 
and  leave  my  home.     I  did  not  know  all  that  was  included 
35 


546 


REMOVING    IN    HASTE. 


in  my  resolution,  else  I  might  have  faltered  in  my  new  de- 
termination. My  plans  were  quickly  laid,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  the  friends  whom  I  had  found  in  this  hour  of 
trouble,  were  carried  into  instant  execution,  before  they 
could  be  discovered  by  Mormon  spies. 

On  the  1 7th  of  July,  1873,  I  sent  all  my  furniture  to  an 
auction-room,  leaving  my  house  stripped  and  desolate.  It 
was  done  so  quickly  that  no  one  had  time  even  to  suspect 


CARRYING  MY  FURNITURE  TO  THE  AUCTION  ROOM. 

my  intention.  Arrangements  having  been  previously  made, 
three  furniture  vans  came  at  the  same  time,  and  in  forty 
minutes  my  entire  household  goods  were  in  charge  of  the 
auctioneer.  They  were  sold  the  next  day,  and  I  realized 
three  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  from  the  sale.  The  furni- 
ture was  worth  almost  nothing,  being  old  and  worn,  and  of 
common  quality  at  its  best ;  but  my  friends  bought  it  at  large 
prices,  "to  help  the  young  apostate,"  as  the  Tribune  said. 


IN   A   HOTEL    FOR    THE    FIRST    TIME.  547 

I  had  sent  the  elder  of  my  boys  to  his  grandmother,  the 
younger  remained  with  me,  and  together  we  went  to  Mr. 
Stratton's  house,  where  we  passed  the  afternoon.  In  the 
evening  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stratton  took  us  to  the  Walker 
House,  the  Gentile  hotel,  which  I  have  ever  since  claimed 
as  my  Salt  Lake  City  home. 

Imagine,  if  you  can,  my  feelings,  on  being  alone  with 
my  little  child,  in  a  strange  place,  under  such  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances. I  had  abandoned  my  religion,  left  father, 
mother,  home,  and  friends,  —  deliberately  turned  away  from 
them  all,  knowing  that  the  step  I  was  taking  could  never 
be  retraced.  My  heart  cried  out  for  my  mother,  who  I 
knew  would  be  more  sorely  stricken  with  my  action  than 
any  one  else  in  the  world.  I  would  have  spared  her  if  I 
could,  but  I  was  powerless  to  act  in  any  other  manner. 

It  was  the  first  time  in  my  life  that  I  had  been  in  a  hotel ; 
and,  as  I  was  among  people  who  I  had  been  taught  were 
my  bitterest  enemies,  I  was  overwhelmed  by  a  sense  of 
desolate  helplessness.  I  did  not  know  what  my  fate  would 
be.  Every  footstep  in  the  halls  startled  me  ;  for  I  expected 
that  each  would  bring  some  one  to  summon  me  to  a  dreadful 
death.  I  fully  believed  that  was  to  be  my  last  night  on 
earth,  so  I  prepared  for  death ;  but  the  agony  of  suspense 
was  awful.  I  had  been  taught  that  no  deed  was  too  bad, 
no  outrage  too  dastardly,  for  the  Gentiles  to  commit  upon 
the  Mormons ;  and  here  I  had  allowed  myself  to  be  placed 
so  fully  in  their  power  that  they  might  do  with  me  as  they 
pleased,  and  my  fate  would  never  be  known. 

Does  any  one  wonder  that  I  did  not  seek  refuge  with 
some  Mormon  friend,  of  whose  sympathy  I  was  sure?  No 
Mormon  would  have  dared  to  give  me  shelter.  I  was  in 
open  rebellion  against  their  leader,  and  had  I  remained 
one  day  among  them,  my  doom  would  have  been  irrevoca- 
bly fixed. 

Neither  did  I  dare  to  remain  with  my  friends,  the  Strat- 
tons  ;  for  in  so  doing  I  should  expose  them  to  Mormon  fury, 


548 


A   DREARY   NIGHT. — EXCITING   TIMES. 


and  endanger  their  lives  and  their  home.  So  I  sought 
the  only  place  of  refuge  open  to  me  with  untold  fear  and 
dread. 

I  laid  awake  all  night  wishing  for  the  day  to  dawn,  yet 
fearing  that  I  should  never  see  it;  and  when  the  first  ray 
of  light  came  through  my  windows  I  was  relieved  and 
hopeful. 

With  morning  came  a  new  excitement.     The  news  of 


:^~ _-ypr  |,^rr^\!  Tl-~v      |  -jlffi    ' 

o>^t^df^i  dli; 


EXCITEMENT  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 

my  flight  from  home  had  gone  abroad,  and  the  morning 
papers  were  full  of  it,  —  the  Mormon  journals  abusing,  the 
Gentile  journals  praising  and  congratulating  me.  This  part 
of  the  experience  had  never  suggested  itself  to  me.  It  had 
never  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be  made  a  public  matter, 
and  I  shrank  from  the  very  thought.  I  felt  myself  a  marked 
object.  Reporters  called  on  me,  seeking  interviews  for  the 
California,  Chicago,  and  New  York  papers,  and  questioned 


AN  AGONIZING  LETTER  FROM  MY  MOTHER.     549 

me  until  I  was  fairly  bewildered.  I  had  gone  to  bed  a  poor, 
defenceless,  outraged  woman,  trying  to  find  my  way  out  of 
a  false  life  into  something  truer  and  better,  and  I  arose  to 
find  that  my  name  had  gone  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
country,  and  that  I  was  everywhere  known  as  Brigham 
Young's  rebellious  wife. 

People  who  were  curious  to  see  one  of  the  wives  of  the 
Prophet,  swarmed  into  the  hotel.  I  could  not  leave  my 
room,  nor  did  I  dare  to  do  so,  nor  to  allow  my  children  out 
of  my  sight  for  nearly  two  months.  The  Mormon  papers 
commenced  to  assail  me  in  every  way,  while  the  Gentile 
papers  came  unanimously  to  my  defence.  In  the  midst  of 
it  came  this  most  heart-rending  letter  from  my  mother :  — 

"My  DEAR  CHILD  :  You  can  never  know  how  dear  you  are  to 
your  grief-stricken  mother.  Your  death  would  have  been  far 
preferable  to  the  course  you  are  taking.  How  gladly  would  I 
have  laid  you  in  your  grave,  had  I  known  what  was  in  your  heart. 
I  now  pray  that  you  may  be  spared  for  repentance  and  atonement ; 
for,  as  sure  as  you  are  living,  a  day  of  repentance  will  come ;  a 
day  of  reckoning  and  of  sorrow,  such  as  you  have  never  imagined. 
Now,  let  me  entreat  of  you  to  pause,  and  retrace  your  steps  before 
it  is  too  late.  The  Lord,  my  Father,  grant  that  you  may  listen  to 
your  mother's  last  appeal,  and  flee  from  your  present  dictators,  as 
you  would  from  the  fiends  of  darkness. 

u  You  will  never  know  the  effort  I  am  making  to  write  this. 
When  I  first  received  the  blow,  it  struck  me  down  like  a  flash  of 
lightning,  and  the  first  I  remember,  I  was  praying  for  your  death 
before  you  sinned  past  redemption.  My  much-loved  child,  come 
to  your  mother,  and  try  to  smooth  her  pathway  to  the  grave.  I 
should  pray  to  be  laid  there  at  once,  if  I  did  not  hope  to  save  you 
yet.  The  path  you  are  pursuing  leads  to  the  lowest  depths  of 
woe,  and  I  pray,  every  moment  of  my  life,  that  you  may  speedily 
be  arrested.  Oh,  how  could  you  turn  against  us?  How  could 
you  break  our  hearts?  Your  father's  house,  and  your  brother  Gil- 
bert's house,  are  both  filled  with  weeping  friends,  who  are  de- 
ploring your  fate ;  and  I  implore  you,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is 
sacred,  to  come  back  to  us.  You  seem  to  be  encircled  in  a  cloud 


55°  WAR   COMMENCED. 

of  almost  impenetrable  darkness,  but  the  Lord  our  God  is  able  to 
remove  the  veil,  and  enlighten  you  in  his  own  way.  I  can  only 
pray  for  you. 

"  My  heart  is  broken,  my  dear  and  much-loved  child.  I  loathe 
the  sight  of  food,  and  sleep  has  forsaken  my  eyelids.  The  idol  is 
rudely  broken  that  I  have  worshiped  so  long.  My  fault  has  been 
in  loving  you  too  well,  and  having  too  great  anxiety  for  your 
welfare. 

u  I  pray  you  to  forgive  me  for  all  the  wrongs  you  imagine  I 
have  done  you  in  bringing  you  up  as  I  have  done.  I  have  ever 
been  laboring,  teaching,  and  instructing  with  the  best  of  motives, 
with  an  eye  to  your  interests.  I  shed  the  bitterest  tears  I  ever  did 
in  my  life.  God  grant  you  may  never  have  cause  to  shed  such 
tears.  If  I  can  ever  be  the  least  comfort  to  you,  do  not  fear  to  let 
me  know.  I  close  by  repeating,  come  to  the  arms  of  your  heart- 
broken but  still  anxions 

"  MOTHER." 

If  she  agonized  over  the  writing  of  that  letter,  so  I  did 
over  the  reading.  I  longed  to  fly  to  her ;  but  even  to  make 
her  happy  I  could  not  violate  my  conscience,  and  go  back 
into  the  old  bondage  of  darkness  again. 

My  father  came  at  once  to  see  me ;  and  although  he  at 
first  disapproved  of  my  course,  yet  when  the  Mormon 
press  commenced  to  assail  me,  he  came  over  to  my  side 
at  once. 

Brigham  and  his  friends  commenced  their  usual  method 
'of  warfare  against  a  woman  who  opposes  them,  by  instigat- 
ing slanders  of  all  sorts  for  the  Gentile  papers  outside  of 
Utah  to  publish.  They  found  a  ready  assistant  for  their 
noble  and  generous  attempt  in  the  person  of  a  fellow  of  low 
repute,  employed  as  item-gatherer  for  the  Salt  Lake  Her- 
ald, who  had  recently  been  converted  to  Mormonism  through 
the  agency  of  Brigham  Young's  purse,  and  was  now  ready 
to  do  any  foul  work  for  his  master. 

His  first  act  was  to  send  a  dictated  falsehood  to  the  San 
Francisco  Chronicle.  He  was  a  telegraph  operator,  and, 
through  Brigham  Young,  who,  it  is  alleged,  virtually  con- 


BRIGHAM    TRIES    TO    COMPROMISE.  55 1 

trols  the  Associated  Press  and  the  Western  Telegraph  Office 
in  Utah,  he  had  access  to  wires,  and  sent  all  the  scandalous 
messages  which  his  employer  dictated,  until  it  became  so 
plainly  apparent  that  he  was  serving  Mormon  interests,  that 
the  papers  refused  to  publish  any  more  of  his  misstate- 
ments. 

As  a  reward  for  his  labor,  he  was  promised  a  daughter 
of  Mayor  Wells  as  his  wife.  The  young  lady  has  not  yet 
acquiesced  in  the  arrangement,  and  he  still  hangs  about 
Salt  Lake,  despised  alike  by  Mormons  and  Gentiles. 

The  Gentile  element  in  Salt  Lake  made  itself  strongly 
felt  in  my  favor,  and  the  Gentile  press  combated  bravely 
the  scurrility  of  the  Mormon  organs.  Ladies  and  gentle- 
men called  on  me  with  offers  of  sympathy.  All  the  persons 
connected  with  the  hotel  were  kindness  itself.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stratton  stood  by  me  nobly,  and  I  have  never  ceased 
to  thank  God  for  raising  up  such  friends  in  my  time  of  need. 
I  shall  always  hold  them  most  specially  dear,  although 
our  paths  in  life  have  so  diverged  that  we  rarely  meet. 
Through  General  Maxwell,  who  was  so  kind  as  to  come 
forward  with  offers  of  assistance,  I  brought  suit  for  divorce 
against  Brigham  Young. 

Surprised,  as  every  one  was,  by  this  action,  I  think  no  one 
was  more  astonished  than  the  Prophet  himself.  He  would 
have  looked  for  rebellion  from  almost  any  other  wife  sooner 
than  from  me,  I  had  been  so  quiet  and  acquiescent  during 
all  rny  married  life  with  him.  He  was  annoyed  by  the 
publicity  of  the  affair ;  for,  although  he  likes  notoriety,  and 
courts  it,  he  did  not  care  to  appear  as  defendant  in  a  suit  for 
divorce,  on  the  grounds  of  neglect  and  non-support.  It 
would  not  sound  well  in  the  Gentile  world. 

He  tried  to  effect  a  compromise  with  me,  and  through  his 
son-in-law,  Hiram  B.  Clawson,  offered  me  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  and  my  freedom  if  I  would  carry  the  suit  no  further. 
I  will  confess  that  the  offer  tempted  me.  I  ctfuld  take  my 
children  and  go  away  quietly  with  them,  and  avoid  the 


552  A    LEGAL   FIGHT    COMMENCED. 

notoriety  which  I  so  hated.  If  it  had  been  my  own  individ- 
ual case  alone,  I  should  have  eagerly  accepted  the  offer, 
and  made  the  compromise.  But  when  I  thought  how  much 
was  involved,  how  many  other  lives  would  be  affected  by 
the  decision  which  would  be  given  in  my  case,  I  put  all 
thought  of  settlement  aside.  I  would  not  now  be  bought  by 
the  man  who  refused  to  care  for  me  when  it  was  his  duty  to 
do  so ;  and  I  said  to  my  lawyers,  and  General  Maxwell, 
"Go  on."  There  was  no  further  delay,  and  the  legal  fight 
commenced  at  once.  As  so  much  has  been  said  concerning 
this  trial,  and  as  it  seems  so  generally  misunderstood,  I  will 
devote  a  chapter  to  the  legal  points,  and  an  epitome  of  the 
court  proceedings,  as  far  as  they  have  reached,  so  that  the 
general  public  may  more  fully  understand  what  I  sought, 
and  what  grounds  I  had  to  justify  my  action. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 


THE   DIVORCE   SUIT.  — PROCEEDINGS  IN  COURT.  — BRIG- 
HAM'S    AFFIDAVIT. 

I  bring  an  Action  against  the  Prophet.  —  My  "  Complaint "  against  Him. 
-  What  the  "  Complaint "  Stated.  —  My  Birth  and  Early  Life.  —  My 
Marriage  with  the  Prophet.  —  Exile  to  Brigham's  Farm.  —  Cause  of 
Action  for  Divorce.  —  The  Question  of  Alimony.  —  My  own  Affidavit. 

—  Corroborative  Testimony.  —  Opinion  of  Judge  McKean. —  Brigham 
Young's  Reply  and  Affidavit.  —  The  Prophet  states  the  Value  of  his 
Property.  —  Wonderful  Difference  of  Opinion.  —  Proceedings  in  Court. 

—  Judge  McKean  Sums  Up.  —  Order  for  Allowance  and  Alimony. — 
Judge  McKean  Removed.  —  His  Order  Quashed  by  the  New  Judge. — 
The  Latest  Proceedings. 


N  the  28th  of  July,  1873, 
I  commenced  an  action 
for  divorce  against  Brig- 
ham  Young  in  the  Dis- 
trict Court  of  the  Third 
Judicial  District  of  Utah, 
and  the  **  Complaint" 
was  served  upon  him 
by  the  United  States 
marshal. 

This**  Complaint  "set 
forth,  with  the  usual  pro- 
lixity of  all  legal  instru- 
ments,   the    grievances 
which  I  had  appealed  to 
the  law  to  remedy  ;  but, 
as    it   would   be  utterly 
impossible,    in   the    cir- 
cumscribed limits  of  these  pages,  to   give  that  document 
entire,  I  shall  present  the  reader  with  as  succinct  a  rcsum£ 
of  its  contents  as  I  possibly  can. 


BKIGHAM  FINED  AND  IMPRISONED  FOR  CONTEMPT 
OF  COURT. 


554  STATING    MY    CASE. 

It  was  addressed  "  To  the  Hon.  James  B.  McKean,  Judge 
of  the  Third  Judicial  District  Court,  in  and  for  the  Terri- 
tory of  Utah,  and  County  of  Salt  Lake,  in  Chancery  sit- 
ting,9 and  the  following  are  the  several  items  which  it  con- 
tained:— 

It  began  by  slating  who  and  what  I  was ;  that  I  was  born 
at  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  but  had,  since  the  year  1848,  been  res- 
ident in  Utah ;  that  I  was  the  wife  of  Brigham  Young ;  and 
that  I  was  married  to  him  on  the  6th  of  April,  1868,  when 
I  was  in  my  twenty-fifth  year,  and  was  the  mother  of  two 
children  by  a  former  marriage,,  one  four  and  the  other 
three  years  of  age ;  that  neither  I  nor  my  children  had*  any- 
tiling  to  depend  upon,  —  a  fact  of  which  Brigham  was  well 
aware,  —  and  also  that  my  children  were  boys,  still  living. 

That  Brigham  had  lived  with  me  for  about  a  year  after 
our  marriage,  treating  me  with  some  degree  of  kindness, 
and  providing,  though  inadequately,  for  my  support ;  and 
that  I  had  always  fulfilled  my  duties  as  a  wife  toward  him. 

That  about  a  year  after  our  marriage  he  began  to  neg- 
lect and  ill-treat  me ;  that  during  the  year  1869  he  sent  me, 
against  my  wishes,  to  a  farm,  four  miles  distant  from  Salt 
Lake  City,  where,  for  three  years  and  a  half  I  was  com- 
pelled to  labor  until  I  was  completely  broken  down  in 
health;  that  my  only  companion  was  my  mother;  that, 
except  the  limited  fare  which  the  defendant  allowed  me,  he 
appropriated  all  the  proceeds  of  the  farm ;  and  that  on  the 
few  occasions  when  he  visited  the  farm  he  treated  me  with 
studied  contempt,  objecting  even  to  my  aged  mother  re- 
ling  with  me,  after  her  health  was  destroyed  by  over- 


on  his  farm. 

That  toward  the  end  of  1872  Brigham  removed  me  to  a 
house  in  Salt  Lake  City,  where,  however, he  seldom  visited 
me ;  that  when  I  called  upon  him  to  ask  a  supply  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  he  used  the  most  opprobrious  language 
toward  me,  and  gave  me  so  little  that  I  had  to  work  con- 
stantly to  support  myself  and  children. 


SEEKING    A    SEPARATION.  555 

That  for  five  years  past  my  health  had  been  so  bad  that 
I  was  now  altogether  unfitted  to  labor,  and  was  in  constant 
need  of  medical  advice ;  that  Brigham  knew  it,  but  repeat- 
edly refused  to  furnish  me  with  assistance,  medicine,  or 
food,  so  that  I  was  obliged  to  rely  upon  the  charity  of 
friends ;  that  Brigham  had  declared  he  would  never  do 
anything  more  for  me,  and  said  that  henceforth  I  must  sup- 
port myself,  notwithstanding  that  he  was  the  owner  of  sev- 
eral millions  of  dollars ;  that,  as  President  of  the  Mormon 
Church,  he  occupied  a  very  important  position,  and  I  be- 
lieved that  his  monthly  income  could  not  be  less  than  forty 
thousand  dollars. 

That  I  had  been  compelled  to  sell  my  furniture,  and  all 
my  household  goods,  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessaries  of 
life  ;  and  that,  for  a  year  previous  to  that  date  [1873],  Brig- 
ham  had  entirely  deserted  me. 

Further,  I  stated  that  it  was  impossible  for  our  union  to 
continue ;  that  I  prayed  for  a  separation,  and  also  an  allow- 
ance, as  all  I  possessed  consisted  of  about  three  hundred 
dollars,  and  my  children  were  dependent  upon  me  for  sup- 
port ;  I  asserted  that  I  had  secured  the  aid  of  Messrs.  F. 
M.  Smith,  A.  Hagan,  and  F.  Tilford  as  my  counsel;  that 
I  had  been  informed  that  twenty  thousand  dollars  \yould  be 
a  reasonable  compensation  for  their  services ;  and  I  there- 
fore prayed  the  court  to  direct  a  subprena,  commanding 
the  defendant,  Brigham  Young,  to  appear  to  answer  to  my 
suit ;  that,  pending  it,  he  might  be  ordered  to  pay  me 
a  thousand  dollars  a  month  from  the  date  of  filing  this 
bill,  a  preliminary  fee  of  six  thousand  dollars  to  my  coun- 
sel, and  that  after  the  final  decree  he  should  pay  them  the 
remaining  fourteen  thousand,  and  all  the  expenses  of  the 
court. 

Furthermore,  I  prayed,  that  after  our  legal  separation,  he 
might  be  ordered  to  support  myself  and  children  suitably ; 
and  that  for  that  purpose  the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  might  be  set  aside  from  his  estate. 


556 

This  bill,  the  substance  of  which  I  have  given  above, 
was  signed  by  m}'  solicitors,  Smith,  Hagan,  and  Jilford, 
and  to  it  the  following  was  appended  :  — 


"  TERRITORY  OF  UTAH, 

ss. 


County  of  Salt  Lake*  } 
"Ann  Eliza  Young,  being  first  duly  sworn,  deposes  and 
says  :  That  she  is  the  complainant  in  the  above  entitled 
action ;  that  she  has  heard  read  the  foregoing  bill  of  com- 
plaint, and  knows  the  contents  thereof,  and  that  the  same 
is  true  of  her  own  knowledge,  except  the  matters  and 
things  therein  stated  on  information  and  belief,  and  as  to 
those  she  believes  them  to  be  true. 

"ANN  ELIZA  YOUNG. 

"Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this  ipth  day  of 
July,  A.  D.,  1873.  JOSEPH  F.  NOUNNAN,  Clerk" 

A  motion  for  an  allowance  and  counsel  fees  was  noticed 
for  hearing  at  the  same  time,  and  the  service  was  by  the 
same  officer.  This  document  was  headed  with  all  due 
form  and  ceremony.  It  stated,  I,  Ann  Eliza  Young,  the 
plaintiff,  being  duly  sworn,  alleged  : 

That  I  was  the  wife  of  Brigham  Young,  the  defendant ; 
that  while  I  was  living  with  him,  and  performing  the  work 
mentioned  in  the  bill  already  filed,  he  acquired  enormous 
property,  of  the  value  of  several  millions  of  dollars,  and 
was  now  the  owner  of  at  least  eight  millions. 

That  I  had  no  means  of  knowing  his  exact  income,  but 
was  sufficiently  informed  to  allege  that  it  was  at  least  forty 
thousand  dollars  a  month. 

That  the  facts  stated  in  the  bill  were  true ;  that  I  and  my 
children  were  penniless;  that  knowing  the  power  and  in- 
fluence of  Brigham,  that  he  had  the  disposition  to  harm 
me,  and  that  my  life  would  be  unsafe  in  any  private  house, 
I  had  taken  refuge  in  the  chief  hotel  in  Salt  Lake  City,  — 
the  Walker  House,  —  about  the  I5th  of  July,  where  I  had 


FURTHER   AFFIDAVITS.  557 

since  resided ;  that  my  expenses  were  very  large,  but  that 
I  had  no  income,  and  that  my  health  was  too  feeble  to  allow 
me  to  work.  I  therefore  prayed  the  court  to  grant  me  the 
items  included  in  the  bill  already  filed. 

This  affidavit  was  signed  by  me,  and  countersigned  by 
Joseph  F.  Nounnan,  the  clerk  of  the  court. 

Attached  to  it  was  an  affidavit,  signed  C.  M.  Turck, 
making,  upon  oath,  a  statement  of  the  destitute  condition  in 
which  I  was  previous  to  the  time  when  I  left  my  private 
residence  and  went  to  the  Walker  House. 

Of  this  affidavit  it  is  needless  for  me  to  speak  in  detail, 
further  than  to  say  that  it  more  than  fully  establishes  to  the 
utmost  all  that  the  previous  bill  and  affidavit  affirmed. 
Other  affidavits  were  made  by  gentlemen  who  knew  me 
well, — one  by  Mr.  Malcolm  Graham,  and  another  by  my 
medical  adviser,  J.  M.  Williamson,  both  of  which  fully 
confirmed  my  own  statements. 

James  B.  McKean,  judge  of  the  court,  was  absent  tempo- 
rarily on  account  of  sickness  at  that  time,  and  Judge  Em- 
erson, of  the  First  District  Court,  presided  for  him.  Judge 
McKean  had  held  that,  in  equity  cases,  the  United  States 
marshal  was  the  proper  officer  to  serve  process,  but  the 
defendant  came  into  court  at  the  time  appointed  for  the 
hearing,  and  moved  to  quash  the  service  of  the  process,  on 
the  ground  that  the  "territorial  marshal,"  and  not  the  United 
States  marshal,  was  the  proper  officer  to  serve  the  process 
in  the  case.  Reversing  the  rule  administered  by  Judge 
McKean,  the  judge  temporarily  presiding  held  the  motion 
good,  and  quashed  the  service. 

Therefore  new  process  was  issued,  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  territorial  marshal,  accompanied  by  an  order 
to  the  defendant  to  appear  and  answer  to  the  motion  for  an 
allowance  and  alimony.  This  was  regularly  served,  and 
at  the  day  appointed  the  defendant  appeared  by  counsel, 
and,  for  cause  against  the  motion,  filed  his  demurrer  to  the 
bill,  on  the  ground  that  the  District  Court  had  not  jurisdic- 


55$  BRIGHAM    DENIES    OUR    MARRIAGE. 

tion  of  the  subject  of  divorce  in  Utah  Territory.  Two  days 
were  occupied  in  the  argument  of  this  question,  and  it  was 
taken  under  advisement  for  ten  days  longer.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  the  presiding  judge  came  into  court,  and  held 
that  this  court  had  no  jurisdiction  in  matters  of  divorce,  and 
denied  the  motion. 

The  case  then  stood  over,  by  an  agreement  between  the 
counsel,  until  the  following  May,  1874.  ^he  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Territory,  at  its  term  held  in  that  month,  in 
the  case  of  Cast  vs.  Cast,  decided  that  the  district  courts  of 
the  territory  had  jurisdiction  in  actions  for  divorce  and  ali- 
mony, thus  reversing  the  opinion  of  Emerson,  justice  in 
this  case.  The  case  being  afterwards  —  in  July,  1874  — 
called  on  for  hearing  on  the  demurrer  to  the  complaint  in 
the  District  Court,  McKean,  presiding,  overruled  the  de- 
murrer, and  gave  the  defendant  leave  to  answer. 

Thereupon  my  counsel  asked  and  obtained  leave  to 
renew  the  motion  for  an  allowance  and  alimony  pending 
the  suit  which  had  been  denied.  It  is  proper  also  here  to 
state,  that  on  the  24th  of  June,  1874,  Congress  enacted  a 
law  expressly  conferring  authority  in  divorce  cases  on  the 
District  Court  of  the  Territory ;  but  this  law  only  affirmed 
by  legislation  what  the  Supreme  Court  had  already  decided 
to  be  the  law. 

On  the  24th  of  August,  1874,  Brigham  Young  filed 
an  answer,  of  which  the  following  is  a  correct  summary  :  — 

He  denied  that  at  any  time  he  had  been  married  to  nje. 

That  at  the  time  when  my  affidavit  alleged  that  this  mar- 
riage to  me  took  place,  I  was  really  the  wife  of  James  L. 
Dee,  never  having  been  legally  divorced  from  him,  but 
that  he  [Brigham]  believed  at  the  time  of  alleged  marriage 
in  April,  1868,  that  I  had  been  properly  divorced  from  Dee. 

He  alleged  his  previous  marriage  with  Mrs.  Mary  Ann 
Angell  Young,  at  Kirtland,  Ohio,  on  the  loth  of  January, 
1834,  and  tnat  tne  said  legal  wife  was  still  living,  of  which 
fact  I,  complainant,  was  aware. 


BRIGHAM'S  STATEMENT.  559 

He  admitted  his  marriage  with  me,  after  the  custom  of 
the  Latter-Day  Saints,  but  denied  that  the  marriage  was 
legal,  in  any  sense  acknowledged  by  the  laws  of  the  land. 

He  then  proceeded  to  deny  every  one  of  the  counts  in 
my  complaint,  seriatim,  winding  up  with  the  following 
statement :  — 

"  Defendant  denies  that  he  is  or  has  been  the  owner  of 
wealth  amounting  to  several  millions  of  dollars,  or  that  he 
is  or  has  been  in  the  monthly  receipt  from  his  property  of 
forty  thousand  dollars  or  more.  On  the  contrary,  defendant 
alleges  that,  according  to  his  best  knowledge,  information, 
and  belief,  all  his  property,  taken  together,  does  not  exceed 
in  value  the  sum  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  that 
his  gross  income  from  all  of  his  property,  and  every  source, 
does  not  exceed  six  thousand  dollars  per  month. 

"Defendant  further  says,  that  at  the  time  of  the  said  alleged 
marriage,  this  defendant  had,  and  still  has,  a  very  large 
family  ;  that  his  said  family  now  consists  of  sixty-three  per- 
sons, all  of  whom  are  dependent  upon  this  defendant  for 
maintenance  and  support. 

"  Whereof  the  defendant  prays  judgment  of  the  court  that 
he  be  hence  dismissed  with  his  costs  herein. 

"WILLIAMS,  YOUNG  &  SHEEKES,  and 
HEMPSTEAD  &  KIRKPATRICK, 

Defendant's  Attorneys" 

To  the  replication  of  defendant,  which  was  very  lengthy, 
denying  or  explaining  away  every  point  in  the  bill  which  I 
had  filed,  the  following  was  appended :  — 

"TERRITORY  OF  UTAH,    £ 
County  of  Salt  Lake.  \  SS' 

"Brigham  Young,  being  duly  sworn,  on  his  oath  says: 
That  he  has  heard  read  the  foregoing  answer,  and  knows 
and  understands  the  contents  thereof,  and  that  the  same  is 


560  THE    TRIAL    PROCEEDS. 

true  of  his  own  knowledge,  except  those  matters  therein 
stated  on  his  information  and  belief,  and  as  to  those  matters 
he  believes  it  to  be  true.  Affiant  further  says  that  he  is  the 
defendant  in  the  above  entitled  suit. 

"BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 

"Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  25th  day  of 
August,  1874. 

"Jos.  F.  NOUNNAN,  Clerk? 

The  court  then  gave  me,  or  my  counsel  for  me,  leave  to 
renew  the  motion  for  alimony  as  asked ;  and  notice  having 
been  given,  the  motion  was  by  agreement  fixed  for  hearing 
on  the  3d  day  of  October  following.  My  counsel  also  filed 
a  motion  to  strike  out  portions  of  the  defendant's  answer, 
and  on  the  hearing  of  the  motion  for  alimony,  insisted  upon 
submitting  it  to  the  court.  When  the  motion  was  called  for 
hearing,  I  offered  to  submit  a  number  of  affidavits  bearing 
on  the  question  of  alimony,  which  were  filed  and  served  with 
the  original  complaint.  The  defendant  objected  to  the  read- 
ing of  them,  on  the  ground  that  they  had  not  had  sufficient 
notice  of  them  by  the  notice  renewing  the  motion,  and  they 
were  withdrawn. 

The  defendant  then  offered  to  read  affidavits  in  support 
of  his  answer,  but  as  they  had  not  been  served,  and  their 
contents  not  made  known  prior  to  the  hearing,  they  were  ob- 
jected to  and  excluded.  It  also  appeared  that  the  affidavits 
were  addressed  to  other  matters  of  defence  than  those  set  up 
in  the  answer. 

The  hearing  was  then  had  upon  my  complaint  and  the 
defendant's  answer,  my  counsel  at  the  same  time  submitting 
their  motion  to  strike  out  certain  objectionable  portions  of  the 
answer,  and  insisting  that  such  portions  should  be  disre- 
garded by  the  court,  and  treated  —  if  the  motion  were  well 
founded  —  as  out  of  the  answer. 

The  questions  involved  were  argued,  and  on  the  23d  day 


PLURAL    MARRIAGES    ILLEGAL.  561 

of  February,  1875,  the  judge  decided  the  motion  for  alimony, 
pending  the  suit,  in  an  elaborate  written  opinion,  of  which 
the  following  is  an  accurate  summary  :  — 

The  Judge,  Jas.  B.  McKean,  laid  down  nine  general 
axioms  tending  to  demonstrate  that  the  defendant's  pleas 
were  invalid;  that  a  marriage  solemnized  in  Utah,  after 
Mormon  fashion,  would  be  legally  valid,  provided  the 
parties  married  were  competent  to  enter  into  that  engage- 
ment ;  that  the  court  could  not  grant  a  divorce  if  the  marriage 
were  proved  bigamous  or  polygamous ;  that  the  court  had 
power  to  grant  alimony,  and  intended  to  do  so  to  the  extent 
of  one  twelfth  of  what  the  defendant  admitted  his  income  to 
be,  or  one  eightieth  according  to  my  assertion. 

He  then  summed  up  the  statements  of  both  parties  to  the 
suit.  He  gave  the  substance  of  my  "  Complaint,"  and  then 
took  into  consideration  Brigham  Young's  reply. 

Then  he  considered  the  defendant's  denial  that  any  mar- 
riage had  ever  taken  place  between  us  ;  his  statement  that, 
at  the  time  when  I  alleged  that  our  marriage  took  place,  I  was 
actually  the  wife  of  Jas.  L.  Dee,  never  having  been  properly 
divorced  from  him ;  and  also  his  admission  that  we  had 
been  married  polygamously  in  April,  1868. 

The  judge  gave  quotations  from  various  sources  to  prove 
that  this  marriage  was  legal  and  binding  according  to  the 
laws  of  the  Territory  and  of  the  United  States,  notwithstand- 
ing that  the  forms  of  the  Mormon  Church  were  used ;  pro- 
viding, always,  that  we  were  both  competent  to  enter  into 
the  contract. 

He  discussed  the  assertion  of  defendant  that  he  was  also 
incompetent  to  marry  while  his  lawful  wife,  Mary  Ann 
Angell,  was  still  living.  This,  the  judge  explained,  was 
the  admission  of  felony  ;  as,  if  admitted,  it  would  prove  that 
the  defendant  had  entered  into  a  bigamous  marriage.  Such 
statements  he,  the  judge,  said  should  be  admitted  as  evi- 
dence, so  far  as  they  were  to  defendant's  prejudice,  but 
must  be  proved  true  before  thev  could  be  admitted  as  evi- 

36 


562    BRIGHAM  ARRESTED  FOR  CONTEMPT  OF  COURT. 

dence  against  the  plaintiff.  The  defendant  must  prove  that 
the  plaintiff  was  the  wife  of  another  man,  and  that  he  him- 
self was  the  husband  of  another  woman,  on  the  6th  of  April, 
1868. 

The  judge  stated,  that  in  order  to  prove  the  allegations 
made  on  both  sides,  it  would  be  necessary  to  summon  wit- 
nesses, procure  documentary  evidence,  &c.,  which  would 
involve  very  great  expense.  He  should,  therefore,  allow 
alimony,  and  a  certain  amount  for  costs  of  prosecution. 

He  quoted  legal  precedents  to  show  what  amount  should 
be  considered  reasonable ;  and  then  he  summed  up,  and  de- 
creed that,  after  considering  all  circumstances,  the  court 
had  concluded  to  order  defendant  to  pay  three  thousand 
dollars  for  the  prosecution  of  the  suit,  and  also  five  hundred 
dollars  a  month  for  the  maintenance  of  plaintiff  and  her 
children,  from  the  day  of  the  filing  of  the  "Complaint." 
The  order  was  accordingly  made. 

In  deciding  the  question,  it  will  be  seen  that  virtually  the 
court  disregarded  portions  of  the  answer,  and,  to  that  ex- 
tent, sustained  the  motion  to  strike  out  those  portions,  though 
it  did  not  formally  pass  on  that  motion. 

The  defendant  excepted  to  the  decision,  and  shortly  after- 
ward filed  a  notice  of  appeal,  and  bond  to  stay  proceedings 
under  the  order. 

The  copy  of  the  order  directing  the  payment  of  the  ali- 
mony was  duly  served  personally  on  Brigham  Young ;  and 
demand  having  been  made  upon  him  for  the  allowance  made 
for  my  attorney's  fees,  and  payment  refused,  he  was  arrested 
in  proceedings  in  contempt,  and  brought  before  the  court. 

His  answer  to  the  proceedings  consisted  of  a  showing  that 
he  had  taken  an  appeal,  and  filed  a  bond  for  a  stay,  &c., 
and,  therefore,  he  was  not  in  contempt.  The  court  held  it 
not  to  be  an  appealable  order,  and  adjudged  that  he  pay  a 
fine  of  twenty-five  dollars,  and  be  committed  to  custody  for 
one  day,  which  was  complied  with. 

Thereupon  he  caused  the  amount  then   due  under  the 


ONE   DAY   IN   CUSTODY.  563 

order  to  be  paid.  My  allowance  he  had  been  given  twenty 
days  to  pay,  and  this  portion  of  the  order  had  hot  been  com- 
plied with,  and  had  not  become  due,  except  five  hundred 
dollars,  which  was  paid,  when  Judge  McKean  was  removed 
by  President  Grant,  and  David  P.  Lowe,  an  ex-congress- 
man from  Kansas,  was  appointed  chief-justice, and  succeeded 
to  the  position. 

Shortly  after  Judge  Lowe  entered  upon  his  duties,  pro- 
ceedings were  begun  by  counsel  to  bring  the  defendant  up 
again  in  contempt,  for  refusing  to  comply  with  the  order 
as  first  stated.  On  appearing,  he  again  showed  cause,  by 
claiming  his  right  of  appeal,  as  in  the  former  hearing ;  and 
objected,  also,  that  the  district  courts  had  no  jurisdiction  of 
matters  of  divorce  at  the  time  of  the  bringing  of  the  suit ; 
that  the  order  was  null  and  void ;  that  there  was  no  con- 
tempt. 

The  court  held,  in  deciding  the  matter,  that  it  had  juris- 
diction ;  that  the  order  was  not  appealable.  In  the  course 
of  his  summing  up,  he  said,  "The  complaint  and  answer 
are  each  upon  oath,  and  it  appears  from  the  record  as  well 
as  from  the  statement  of  counsel  in  argument,  that  the  order 
for  alimony  and  expenses  was  made  upon  the  complaint  and 
answer  alone,  without  any  other  evidence  or  shoiving  what- 
ever. It  is  the  general  doctrine  of  the  courts  in  divorce, 
that  before  temporary  alimony  can  properly  be  awarded, 
the  marriage  must  be  admitted  by  the  parties,  or  established 
by  proofs.  In  the  very  recent  case  of  York  vs.  York,  34 
Iowa,  530,  it  is  said,  'Alimony  is  a  right  that  results  from 
the  marital  relation ,  and  the  fact  of  marriage  between  the 
-parties  must  be  admitted  or  proved  before  there  can  be  a 
decree  for  it  even  -pendente  lite.'' "  He  then  decided  that 
the  order  was  erroneously  made,  and  dismissed  the  proceed- 
ings against  the  defendant. 

The  case  now  stands,  therefore,  on,  the  motion  (not  yet 
formally  passed  upon)  to  strike  out  portions  of  the  defend- 
ant's answer.  The  defendant  has  also  filed  a  motion  to 


564  LIVING   AS   HUSBAND   AND   WIFE. 

vacate  and  set  aside  the  original  order  granting  the  alimony, 
and  the  two  will  probably  be  heard  together. 

My  counsel,  for  me,  insist  that  I  am  entitled  to  the  ali- 
mony upon  the  following  grounds  :  — 

ist.  That  it  is  alleged  in  the  complaint  that  the  plaintiff 
and  defendant  were  married  at  a  time  and  place  designated. 
The  defendant  admits  that  a  marriage  ceremony  did  take 
place,  and  sets  up  new  facts  to  show  that  the  marriage 
which  actually  occurred  was  invalid.  On  this  state  of  facts 
the  plaintiff  insists  that,  pending  the  question  as  to  the 
legality  of  the  marriage,  she  is  entitled  to  alimony. 

2d.  It  is  denied  by  the  plaintiff  that  the  new  matter  in 
the  answer  ought  to  be  disregarded;  first,  because  it  is 
badly  pleaded ;  and,  second,  it  is  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  defendant  to  take  advantage  of  his  own  wrong,  to  wit, 
the  assertion  that  he  had  a  lawful  wife  living,  which  a  court 
of  equity  will  not  permit.  The  defendant  admits  that  he 
was  married  to  the  plaintiff;  that  they  lived  and  cohabited 
together  as  husband  and  wife ;  that  he  supported  and  main- 
tained her  as  such ;  avers  that  he  never  deserted  or  ill- 
treated  her ;  and,  in  fine,  clearly  shows  that  a  relation  of 
marriage  existed  in  fact  between  them. 

3d.  The  plaintiff  claims  that  she  will  succeed  on  the 
merits ;  first,  because  the  defence  on  the  new  matter  ought 
to  be  disregarded  as  badly  pleadedi  and  inadmissible  under 
any  form  of  plea ;  second,  because  the  marriage  of  the  de- 
fendant to  Mary  Ann  Angell  cannot  be  -proved,  and  never 
was  a  lawful  marriage.  There  was  cohabitation,  but  no 
marriage  according  to  law.  This  will  appear  if  the  true 
state  of  facts  is  ever  reached  in  the  trial.  And  the  first 
alleged  marriage  must  be  shown  to  have  been  a  lawful 
marriage.  In  Case  vs.  Case,  17  Cal.  Rep.,  598,  the  law  is 
well  stated  on  this  point. 

As  to  the  allegation  in  the  answer,  that  the  plaintiff  had 
a  lawful  husband  living  at  the  time  of  the  alleged  union  be- 
tween plaintiff  and  defendant,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  she 


THE    LAST    LEGAL    STEP.  565 

was  divorced  from  James  L.  Dee  by  the  Probate  Court  of 
Utah,  and  that  it  was  done  under  the  statute,  and  that  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Utah  had  previously  decided  that  such 
court  had  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  divorce  matters.  While 
this  decision  was  probably  erroneous,  it  was  made  by  the 
highest  tribunal  of  the  territory,  and  was  not  appealable ; 
hence  it  ivas  the  law. 

More  than  this:  the  act  of  Congress  of  June  23,  1874, 
provided  that  all  judgments  of  the  Probate  Courts  of  Utah 
which  had  been  executed,  or  which  had  not  been  appealed 
from,  should  be  held  good.  So  that,  upon  the  facts,  there 
is  nothing  in  the  allegation  that  plaintiff  had  a  husband 
living  at  the  time  of  the  marriage  between  the  plaintiff  and 
defendant. 

It  is  only  right  to  say,  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  ablest 
lawyers  of  the  West,  Judge  Lowe,  in  holding  that  the  new 
matter  in  an  answer  is  only  denied  "  at  the  trial"  has  mis- 
conceived the  California  case  which  he  cites,  and  mistakes 
the  law.  In  injunction  cases  the  pleadings  are  treated  as 
affidavits  by  express  provision  of  the  California  statutes  ;  but 
no  case  can  be  found  in  California  or  elsewhere,  under  the 
code,  where  a  pleading  is  treated  as  true  in  one  stage  of  a 
case,  and  false  in  another.  Such  a  doctrine  would  be  ab- 
surd under  any  system  of  pleading  that  has  ever  existed. 

The  last  legal  step  that  has  been  taken,  so  far,  was  taken 
by  me  in  making  an  affidavit  for  the  purpose  of  proving 
that  the  defendant  perjured  himself,  and  which  will  furnish 
the  foundation  for  his  prosecution  for  the  crime.  With  this 
affidavit,  the  case  is  stayed  for  the  present. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 


MY  ESCAPE   FROM   SALT   LAKE    CITY.  — MY   PUBLIC 
CAREER. 

Thoughts  of  the  Future.  —  The  Gentile  Papers.  —  A  Private  Audience  a* 
the  Walker  House.  —  Hopes  and  Fears.  —  I  Resolve  to  Take  the  Plat- 
form.—  Sneers  and  Ridicule.  —  Brigham  is  made  Acquainted  with  my 
Plans.  —  Packing  under  Difficulties.  —  My  Perilous  Escape  from  Utah. 
—  A  Noble  Woman.  —  Arrival  at  Laramie. —  Denver. —  My  First 
Public  Lecture.  —  A  Grand  Success.  —  Brigham  at  Work.  —  A  Scan- 
dalous Article  in  the  Chicago  Times.  —  A  Mean  Lawyer.  —  Lecture 
at  Boston.  —  Kindness  of  the  Members  of  Boston  Press.  —  Opposed 
by  George  Q.  Cannon. —  Washington  Lecture  a  Success.  —  First 
Glimpses  of  the  True  Faith.  —  Conversion  to  Christianity. 

S  soon  as  I  had  fully  de- 
cided that  compromise 
was  impossible,  I  began, 
to  consider  my  future. 
I  felt  able  to  take  care 
of  myself  and  my  chil- 
dren, if  I  could  see  the 
way  to  do  it.  I  was  not 
afraid  to  work,  and  I 
felt  a  new  impulse  stir- 
ring within  me  which 
made  me  strong.  Life 
was  my  own,  and  I 
would  do  the  best  I 
could. 

The  thought  of  a  pub- 
lic career  had  never  oc- 
curred to  me.  I  had 

no  ambition  to  gratify,  and  I  had  already  gained  more  noto- 
riety than  I  cared  for.  I  was  keenly  sensitive  to  what  was 
said  about  me,  and  many  of  the  newspaper  paragraphs, 


MY  FLIGHT  AT  NIGHT. 


MY   TALK   AT    THE  .WALKER    HOUSE.  567 

wittily  written,  by  persons  who  neither  knew  me  nor  under- 
stood the  situation  in  which  I  was  placed,  wounded  me 
deeply. 

The  Gentile  papers  in  Utah  were,  without  exception, 
friendly  to  me,  and  I  am  sure  kindlier  words  were  never 
given  than  they  have  sent  after  me,  since  the  very  day  I 
came  out  from  under  Brigham's  control. 

During  my  residence  at  the  Walker  House  I  was  re- 
quested to  give  some  account  of  Mormonism  to  the  residents 
of  the  hotel  and  a  few  of  their  friends.  I  consented  to  do 
so,  and  an  evening  was  appointed.  I  prepared  a  simple 
history  of  my  life,  and  introduced,  in  the  course  of  it,  an 
epitomized  description  of  the  Mormon  religion  and  its  rites ; 
and  when  the  evening  arrived,  and  I  entered  the  parlors  of 
the  Walker  House,  I  was  startled  to  see  the  number  of  per- 
sons who  had  assembled  to  listen  to  me.  I  stood  for  a  mo- 
ment gazing  in  sudden  bewilderment ;  the  blood  rushed  to 
my  face,  and  my  first  impulse  was  to  run  away  and  hide 
myself  in  my  own  room.  But  the  applause  which  greeted 
me,  the  smiling,  reassuring  faces  which  were  turned  towards 
me,  and  the  sympathy  which  I  read  in  them  all,  gave  me 
courage. 

My  audience  listened  with  the  closest  attention,  and 
when,  after  a  while,  I  grew  more  accustomed  to  my  strange 
position,  and  ventured  to  look  up,  I  saw  tears  on  more  than 
one  cheek,  and  when  the  last  word  was  read,  and  I  Laid  my 
manuscript  down,  I  was  surrounded  by  my  newly  made 
friends,  all  enthusiastic  in  their  demonstrations  of  sympathy. 

Previous  to  this  involuntary  public  appearance,  it  had 
been  suggested  to  me  that  I  should  take  the  lecture  platform 
against  Mormonism.  I  shrank  from  the  very  mention  of  it, 
and  replied  to  the  friends  who  proposed  it  that  I  could  not, 
and  would  not,  do  it.  To  parade  myself  and  my  troubles  be- 
fore the  world  seemed  such  an  indelicate  thing  to  do  !  But 
when  it  was  shown  me  that  I  might  make  of  myself  a  power 
against  Mormonism  which  should  be  felt,  and  which  should 
open  people's  eyes  to  the  enormity  of  the  religious  system 


568 

which  was  tolerated  by  the  government,  I  hesitated  no 
longer. 

I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  I  did  not  under- 
take this  work  with  a  view  to  self-aggrandizement,  or  to 
gratify  an  inordinate  ambition.  Nothing  has  wounded  me 
more,  since  I  commenced  my  labors,  than  the  oft-repeated 
accusation,  that  I  was  "trying  to  make  capital"  out  of  my 
position  as  the  wife  of  Brigham  Young.  I  have  seen  that 
accusation  within  a  few  months  in  the  Woman's  Journal, 
the  leading  organ  of  woman  suffrage  in  Boston,  in  an  arti- 
cle written  by  one  of  its  editors  and  part  proprietors,  who, 
in  the  same  article,  commended  Brigham  Young  to  public 
favor  because  he  gave  the  suffrage  to  women. 

"Making  capital"  out  of  her  woes,  and,  above  all,  her 
domestic  infelicities,  is  something  no  woman  of  delicacy 
could  do ;  and  had  I  been  governed  by  no  motive  except 
one  so  unworthy,  I  should  deserve  all  the  contemptuous 
criticism  which  I  have  been  treated  to  by  this  apostle  of 
"Fair  Play  for  Women." 

Does  any  one  think  that,  for  the  sake  of  emolument,  I 
could  thus  open  my  heart  to  the  rude  gaze  of  a  curious 
public,  bear  all  the  slurs,  slights,  jeers,  and  aspersions  that 
are  cast  at  me  by  malicious  Mormon  and  thoughtless  Gen- 
tile papers,  be  made  a  by-word  of,  have  my  name  on  every 
vulgar  lip  ?  Never.  My  womanhood  revolts  at  the  idea. 

As  a  means  of  support,  I  would  never  have  undertaken 
it.  When  I  saw  it  was  a  duty,  I  adopted  it  without  hesita- 
tion, and  I  shall  never  cease  my  labors  as  long  as  I  have 
strength  to  work.  While  I  have  a  hand  or  a  voice,  Mor- 
monism  and  Polygamy  shall  find  in  me  a  relentless  foe.  I 
will  never  rest,  God  helping  me,  until  either  I,  or  this  hell- 
ish system,  so  fraught  with  misery,  go  down  in  the  contest. 

When  my  decision  was  fully  made,  I  confided  it  to  my 
father,  who  was  my  constant  visitor.  He  gave  me  the 
warmest  encouragement ;  but  it  was  a  terrible  blow  to  my 
mother,  who  considered  that  I  was  setting  the  final  seal  to 
my  future  and  eternal  misery. 


MY   PERILOUS   ESCAPE.  569 

I  discovered,  after  my  arrangements  were  made,  that  my 
intention  had  become  known  to  the  Mormons,  who  were 
threatening  me  with  all  sorts  of  vengeance  if  I  insisted  on 
carrying  out  my  plans.  It  had  been  arranged  that  I  should 
make  my  first  appearance  in  Denver,  and  as  I  was  exten- 
sively advertised  there,  the  news  of  my  proposed  lecture 
had  been  telegraphed  to  Salt  Lake,  so  that  the  date  of  my 
departure  was  made  public. 

I  did  not  dare  to  leave  Salt  Lake  by  rail,  nor  would  my 
friends  allow  it,  and  all  our  final  arrangements  were  forced 
to  be  made  with  the  greatest  secrecy.  I  did  not  venture 
even  to  take  my  own  trunk.  A  new  one  was  bought,  car- 
ried to  a  friend's  room,  my  clothing  conveyed  to  the  same 
room,  a  piece  or  two  at  a  time,  packed  as  we  could  find 
opportunity,  and  then  taken  to  a  carriage,  and  carried  out- 
side the  city. 

On  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  November,  I  went  with 
my  father,  and  one  or  two  friends,  to  the  house  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stratton.  We  left  the  hotel  by  the  back  door,  for  the 
front  entrance  was  closely  watched,  although  it  was  not 
expected  that  I  would  attempt  to  leave  the  city  until  the 
next  morning.  About  eleven  o'clock  we  left  the  Strattons', 
and  started,  ostensibly  to  walk  home.  A  carriage  was  in 
waiting  at  the  corner.  We  got  in,  called  for  Mrs.  Cooke, 
who  was  to  be  my  travelling  companion,  and  were  driven 
rapidly  out  of  the  city.  I  was  to  take  the  cars  on  the  Union 
Pacific  road  at  Uintah,  and  thus  avoid  travelling  at  all  on 
the  Utah  railroad,  where  I  should  be  sure  to  be  recognized. 

The  night  was  intensely  dark ;  we  could  not  see  our 
hands  before  our  faces,  and,  as  we  plunged  on  through  the 
night  and  the  darkness,  we  were  a  gloomy  and  apprehen- 
sive party.  We  were  not  sure  how  closely  we  had  been 
watched,  or  whether  we  had  succeeded  in  eluding  Mormon 
vigilance.  Even  then,  the  "  Danites,"  those  terrible  minis- 
ters of  Mormon  vengeance,  might  be  upon  our  track,  and 
I  could  not  cast  off  the  feeling  that  every  moment  brought 
us  nearer  and  nearer  to  some  dreadful  death. 


570  A    MIDNIGHT    RIDE. 

Twice  during  the  night  we  were  lost.  The  last  time, 
we  missed  our  way,  and  went  several  miles  up  a  cailon, 
and  I  felt  sure  that  we  were  betrayed,  and  that  our  driver 
was  carrying  us  to  certain  destruction.  I  spoke  to  him, 
without  letting  him  know  my  suspicions,  and  told  him  we 
were  going  wrong.  He  turned  about,  and  drove  rapidly 
back,  and  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  canon  just  as  the 
day  dawned.  Confusion  vanished  with  the  darkness,  our 
driver  found  the  right  road,  and  by  fast  driving  we  reached 
Uintah  just  as  the  train  came  up.  Tickets  and  checks  had 
been  secured  at  Ogden,  and  with  a  hurried  "  good  by  "  to 


MY  ESCAPE  FROM  SALT  LAKH  CITY. 

my  father,  I  jumped  on  board  the  train,  with  Mrs.  Cooke, 
and  we  were  off. 

I  can  never  describe  my  sensations  when  the  train  began 
to  move.  With  the  new  sense  of  freedom  came  a  feeling 
of  such  utter  loneliness  that,  for  a  moment,  I  was  bewil- 
dered by  the  situation,  and,  turning  to  Mrs.  Cooke,  I  said, 
helplessly,  "What  shall  I  do?" 

"  Keep  up  a  brave  heart,  and  think  of  the  work  before 
you,"  said  she. 

Her  experience  in  Mormonism  had  been  no  pleasanter 
than  mine,  and  she  was  as  glad  to  get  away  from  it  as  I 


FRIENDLY    CALLS.  571 

was.  For  twenty  years  she  had  taught  Brigham's  children, 
and  acted  in  the  Mormon  theatre,  and  had  never  received  a 
cent  of  remuneration.  Her  husband,  a  member  of  the 
special  police  force,  was  killed  on  duty,  and  after  his  death 
the  prophet,  through  his  counsellor,  Daniel  H.  Wells, 
swindled  her  out  of  the  two  thousand  dollars  which  the  city 
had  granted  her,  and  tried  to  get  her  house  from  her.  She 
put  the  matter  into  a  Gentile  lawyer's  hands,  and  still  re- 


VIEW  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  SHOWING  TABERNACLE. 

tains  her  home.  She  was  with  me  several  months,  a  de- 
voted and  faithful  companion. 

Our  first  stopping-place  was  at  Laramie,  Wyoming  Ter- 
ritory, where  we  were  to  await  the  arrival  of  my  agent 
from  Salt  Lake.  My  presence  in  town  was  soon  discov- 
ered, and  I  received  many  friendly  and  congratulatory 
calls.  After  my  lecture  every  hospitality  was  shown  me, 
and  I  felt  fresh  courage,  so  kindly  was  my  reception,  and 
so  genuine  were  all  the  expressions  of  interest. 

My  agent  arrived  in  a  day  or  two,  and  we  set  out  for 
Denver.  The  news  of  my  escape  from  Utah  had  been 


572         A  GRAND  RECEPTION  AT  DENVER. 

telegraphed,  and  on  my  arrival,  I  found  myself  eagerly  ex- 
pected. I  was  visited  by  the  editors  of  the  different  papers, 
who  assured  me  of  the  friendly  feeling  toward  me,  and 
offered  me  the  use  of  their  columns.  The  clergymen  all 
came  to  see  me,  and  spoke  generous  words  in  my  behalf 
from  every  pulpit  in  the  city.  They  all  literally  "  took  me 
on  trust."  I  shall  never  forget  the  earnest,  spontaneous 
kindness  which  I  met  from  the  professional  men  of  Denver. 

The  night  on  which  I  was  to  give  my  first  lecture,  the 
5th  of  December,  1873,  was  extremely  cold,  and  the  snow 
fell  heavily.  I  was  discouraged  and  despondent,  for  I  had 
come  to  consider  this  first  evening  as  prophetic  of  my  future 
career,  and  I  saw  failure  before  me.  I  did  not  know 
whether  I  should  be  able  to  reach  the  church,  the  storm  was 
so  furious  ;  but  as  a  faithful  few  had  promised  to  be  in  attend- 
ance, let  what  might  happen,  I  determined  to  make  the  trial. 

My  forebodings  had  been  utterly  useless.  Long  before 
the  church  doors  were  opened  a  large  crowd  was  in  wait- 
ing, and  before  the  hour  for  beginning  the  lecture  arrived 
the  house  was  full,  and  hundreds  had  gone  away  unable  to 
gain  admission.  As  I  looked  into  the  crowded  house,  be- 
fore I  came  on  the  platform,  my  courage  almost  left  me. 
But  while  hesitating,  the  thought  of  the  poor  women  whose 
cause  I  was  to  plead,  came  vividly  into  my  mind,  and  with 
a  firm  step,  and  beating  heart,  I  walked  onto  the  platform, 
and  stood  facing  my  first  audience,  who  greeted  me  with 
tumultuous  applause. 

I  have  never  spoken  more  effectively  in  my  life  than  I  did 
that  night.  It  seemed  to  myself  almost  as  though  I  was 
inspired.  I  forgot  myself  in  my  subject,  and  new  indigna- 
tion thrilled  me  as  I  told  my  story  of  bondage,  such  as  my 
hearers  never  dreamed  of,  and  unveiled  the  horrors  of  the 
Mormon  religion.  I  made  no  attempts  at  oratorical  effects, 
I  worked  up  no  dramatic  "points."  Naturally  and  simply 
as  I  could,  I  said  what  I  had  to  say,  without  a  single 
rhetorical  flourish. 


BRIGHAM    HEARD    FROM. 

The  lecture  was  a  success.  After  it  was  over,  my  audi- 
ence crowded  around  me,  with  such  earnest  words  of  com- 
mendation, that  I  felt  my  first  victory  won.  Since  that 
memorable  evening  I  have  addressed  hundreds  of  audi- 
ences, but  never  have  I  found  one  more  sympathetic  than 
the  one  composed  of  the  true-hearted  people  of  Denver. 

I  was  not  permitted  to  be  quiet  after  that  evening.  En- 
gagements came  pouring  in,  and  I  worked  my  way  steadily 
eastward.  I  was  universally  well  received,  but  I  knew 
that  I  should  somewhere  encounter  Mormon  opposition.  I 
had  seen  too  many  attempts  made  by  Brigham  Young  to 
ruin  anyone  who  dared  to  differ  with  him,  to  think  that  I 
should  escape. 

The  first  blow  came  through  the  columns  of  a  Chicago 
Paper,  which  devoted  considerable  space  one  day  to  a 
scandalous  article  concerning  me,  giving  an  air  of  truth  to 
the  statement  by  mentioning  the  persons  who  were  authority 
for  the  reports.  I  was  overwhelmed  by  it,  for  I  feared  it 
would  put  an  end  to  the  career  of  usefulness  which  I  had 
marked  out  for  myself.  After  I  read  the  shameful  article, 
my  first  words  were,  "Brigham  Young's  money  is  at  the 
bottom  of  this." 

And  so  it  proved.  The  matter  was  put  into  the  hands  of 
Leonard  Swett,  Esq.,  of  Chicago,  for  investigation.  Letters 
came,  in  most  cases  unsolicited,  from  the  persons  referred 
to  as  having  started  the  scandal,  each  one  indignantly  de- 
nying the  whole.  Further  inquiry  revealed  that  George 
C.  Bates,  a  Mormon  lawyer,  of  low  repute,  and  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  induced  the  Paper  to  publish  the  article 
which  originated  in  the  foul  imagination  of  Bates. 

The  papers  of  good  standing  came  at  once  to  my  defence, 
and  endeavored  in  every  possible  way  to  heal  the  wounds 
which  the  article  had  so  cruelly  inflicted  on  me. 

The  scandal  was  published  on  the  eve  of  my  first  appear- 
ance in  Boston,  and  I  was  greatly  distressed  lest  it  should 
injure  my  prospects  in  that  city.  I  wanted  my  visit  there  to 


574  ARRIVAL   IN   BOSTON. 

be  a  success,  as  I  felt  that,  if  I  made  a  favorable  impres- 
sion, I  should  hold  the  key  to  all  New  England.  And  it 
was  to  the  stanch  and  loyal  New  Englanders  that  I  looked 
for  assistance  in  my  labors.  My  new  and  good  friends 
had  taught  me  to  consider  Reform  and  New  England 
synonymous  terms,  and  I  really  believed  my  battle  would 
be  well  begun  if  I  could  gain  such  devoted  allies  as  her 
brave,  inflexible  sons  and  daughters.  But  after  the  attack 
by  the  Chicago  Paper,  I  regarded  failure  as  certain.  How 
surprised  and  gratified  I  was  to  find,  instead  of  the  prejudice 
I  had  expected  to  meet,  a  feeling  of  earnest  kindliness 
toward  myself  personally,  and  of  unfeigned  interest  in  my 
work. 

All  the  papers  sent  representatives  to  visit  me,  and  I 
found  them  kind  and  intelligent  gentlemen,  and  the  papers 
which  they  represented  were  as  generous  as  they.  No- 
where have  I  met  that  courtesy  and  chivalric  consideration 
which  have  been  uniformly  accorded  me  by  the  members  of 
the  Boston  press.  They  have  refrained  from  sarcasm  and 
indelicate  witticisms ;  they  have  been  ready  with  sym- 
pathy, and  quick  to  encourage ;  and  whatever  their  politics 
or  principles,  they  have  been  unanimous  in  their  generous 
treatment  of  me. 

My  first  lecfure  was  given  in  Tremont  Temple,  before  a 
large  and  enthusiastic  audience.  Mr.  James  Redpath  in- 
troduced me,  and  the  short  speech  he  made  fairly  inspired 
me,  it  was  so  kind,  so  reassuring,  so  generous,  and  above 
all,  so  just.  He  had  never  heard  me  speak,  but  he  was  so 
bitter  an  enemy  to  this  horrible  system,  as  indeed  he  is  to 
every  wrong,  that  he  was  willing  to  take  me  for  my  work's 
sake.  After  the  lecture  was  over,  I  felt  that  my  hopes  were 
realized,  and  that  New  England  was  open  to  me. 

In  Washington,  nearly  all  the  government  officials  at- 
tended my  lecture,  and  expressed  themselves  enthusiastically 
in  my  favor.  George  Q^  Cannon  was  contesting  his  seat  in 
Congress,  and  Mormonism  and  its  rulers  were  at  that  June- 


575 

ture  prominently  before  the  public.  Cannon  resented  my 
appearance  at  the  capital,  and  tried  to  break  me  down  by 
ridicule.  He  made  friends  with  the  Washington  Chronicle, 
in  Brigham's  most  approved  style  of  winning  allegiance, 
and  the  day  after  my  first  lecture  a  burlesque  report  of  it 
appeared  in  that  paper.  It  was  intended  to  prejudice  the 
public ;  but  when  the  lecture  was  over,  and  all  the  papers 
were  unanimous  in  their  commendation,  the  Chronicle  sud- 
denly grew  ashamed  of  its  disreputable  alliance,  and  refused 
to  maintain  it  longer,  and,  at  the  same  time,  grew  more  re- 
spectful toward  me. 

I  have  had  hundreds  of  pleasant  platform  experiences 
since  I  commenced  my  crusade  against  polygamy ;  but  the 
three  which  stand  out  the  most  vividly  in  my  memory,  are 
the  first  evenings  at  Denver,  Boston,  and  Washington. 

All  this  time  I  was  learning  to  love  my  Gentile  friends 
very  dearly,  and  to  feel  at  home  in  "Babylon."  I  was 
comparatively  happy,  but  I  was  not  at  rest.  There  was 
something  lacking  in  my  life,  —  a  void  which  nothing 
seemed  to  fill.  Ever  since  I  had  found  myself  the  dupe  of 
a  false  religion,  I  had  drifted  blindly  on,  with  no  belief  in 
anything,  no  faith  in  any  system;  sometimes,  even,  doubt- 
ing the  existence  of  God. 

I  was  in  this  bitter  mood  when  I  spoke,  one  day,  before 
the  Methodist  clergymen  of  Boston  and  vicinity.  Among 
the  persons  to  whom  I  was  introduced  on  this  occasion, 
was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Daniel  Steele,  of  Auburndale.  I  had 
noticed  him  during  my  address,  and  felt  quite  strongly  to- 
ward him,  on  account  of  the  extreme  interest  which  he 
evinced.  One  of  his  first  questions  was  whether  I  had 
found  any  religion  to  take  the  place  of  the  superstition  I 
had  cast  off. 

A  hopeless  "No,"  was  my  reply. 

Then,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I  heard  the  principles 
of  the  religion  of  Christ*  It  was  like  day-dawn  after  a 
night  of  the  blackest  darkness,  and  I  cried  out  eagerly,  — 


576  MORMON   INFLUENCE   IN   WASHINGTON. 

"  This  is  what  I  want,  —  this  religion  of  love." 
A  few  weeks  after  this  I  was  the  guest  of  the  Methodist 
Female  College,  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  of  which  Rev.  Dr. 
M'Cabe  was  president.  I  was  recovering  from  a  severe 
illness,  and  was  very  much  depressed.  My  mother  was 
constantly  writing  to  me,  telling  me  of  the  struggles  through 
which  she  was  passing  in  giving  up  her  religion ;  for  Brig- 
ham's  treatment  of  me,  his  utter  disregard  of  the  truth,  and 
his  malicious  attempts  to  ruin  me,  opened  her  eyes,  and  un- 
bound her  reason  ;  and  she  soon  saw  the  falsity  of  the  whole 
Mormon  plan  of  salvation.  I  knew  every  pang  which  she 
was  suffering,  for  I  have  passed  through  it  all  myself.  Yet 
I  was  powerless  to  comfort  her,  for  I  was  not  at  peace. 

Dr.  M'Cabe  was  my  frequent  visitor,  and  patiently  and 
kindly  he  pointed  out  the  way  of  rest  to  me,  until  at  last  I 
willingly  placed  myself  and  my  troubles  in  the  loving,  out- 
stretched arms  of  God.  Life  opened  out  to  me  fuller  than 
ever  of  possibilities,  and  my  work  grew  holier.  Peace 
brooded  over  my  tired  heart,  and  in  the  new  experience  I 
found  infinite  rest.  Tossed  all  my  life  on  a  stormy  sea  of 
superstition,  I  was  at  last  anchored  in  the  sheltered  haven 
of  Christian  belief. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


CHURCH    GOVERNMENT.— MORMON    APOSTLES. —THE 
ORDER  OF  ENOCH. 

Mormon  Administration.  —  The  Earthly  Trinity.  —  Filling  Vacancies.  — 
Mormon  Apostles.  —  Polygamy  made  Profitable.  —  The  Seventy.  —  Two- 
Dollar  Blessings.  —  Astounding  Promises.  —  Bishops  and  Spies. —  The 
Order  of  Enoch.  —  All  things  in  Common.  —  An  Apostolic  Row.  — How 
Enoch  Works. — A  Stupid  Telegram.  —  Logic  Extraordinary.  —  A 
Gigantic  Swindle.  —  Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile  Institution. — 
Brigham's  Revelations.  —  The  Saints  Laugh  in  their  Sleeves.  —  "It 
Pays  to  be  a  Mormon."  —  Beginning  to  see  Through  It.  —  The  Apos- 
tate President. 

LTHOUGH  the  power 
wielded  by  Brigham 
Young  is  absolute,  he  is 
ostensibly  assisted  in 
the  administration  of 
church  affairs  by  a  large 
number  of  officers, 
whose  real  business  it 
is  to  see  that  the  Pres- 
ident's plans  are  carried 
out,  and  his  commands 
obeyed.  He  is  the  mo- 
tive power,  and  they  are 
mere  tools  in  his  hands, 
to  be  employed  as  he 
sees  fit. 

The     "First     Presi- 
dency," which  controls 

the  whole  church,  is  supposed  to  be  the  earthly  representa- 
tive of  the  Trinity,  "  the  Eternal  Godhead,  Three  in  One," 
and  consists  of  the  President  and  the  First  and  Second 
Counsellors,  who  are  the  types  on  earth  of  "the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,"  in  heaven.  It  is  needless 
to  say  which  rank  Brigham  assigns  to  himself. 
37 


THE  CO-OPERATIVE  STORE. 


578 


THE    FIRST   AND    SECOND    COUNSELLORS. 


GEORGE  A.  SMITH. 
[Counsellor.] 


His  first  counsellor,  George 
A.  Smith,  has  recently  died, 
and  it  is  yet  undecided  who 
shall  fill  his  place.  If  the 
plan  was  followed  which 
raised  Brigham  to  his  present 
position,  the  second  counsel- 
lor would  have  it  by  right  of 
seniority  ;  but  the  general  im- 
|  pression  is  that  "  Young  Brig- 
gy  "  will  be  jumped  into  the 
position,  and  the  Saints  will 
be  obliged  to  receive  him  as 
certain  "  successor,"  whether 
they  wish  it  or  not.  They  will  have  less  difficulty  in  be- 
coming reconciled  to  the  inevitable,  since  he  has  been  for 
so  long  a  time  persistently  thrust  upon  the  people  as  the 
"probable  successor, "  that  they  have  grown  used  to  hearing 
his  claims  discussed. 

The  second  counsellor  is  Daniel  H.  Wells,  who  is  no- 
toriously one  of  the  most  cruel,  bigoted,  and  tyrannical 
men  in  Utah.  He,  like  Smith  and  Brigham,  has  the  title 
of  "Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator." 

The  Prophet  Wells  served  for  years  as  general,  or 
commander-in-chief,  of  the  Mormon  army ;  and  has  ever 
been  Brigham's  right-hand  man  in  iniquity,  fearlessly  dis- 
posing of  life  and  property  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  coun- 
selling his  superior  to  deeds  of  blood  without  number,  and 
then  treating  with  the  most  consummate  cruelty  the  very 
men  who  have  assisted  him  in  the  carrying  out  of  his  atro- 
cious plans.  He  is  Mayor  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  stands 
high  among  the  dignitaries  of  the  church,  but  he  rules 
with  an  iron  hand,  and  cruelty  and  oppression  predomi- 
nate in  all  he  does. 

The  "  apostles  "  rank  in  church  affairs  next  to  the  First 
Presidency.  There  are  twelve  of  them,  and  Orson  Hyde  is 


POLYGAMY    MADE    EASY. 


579 


DANIEL  H.  WELLS. 
[Second  Counsellor.] 


their  worthy  President.  This 
apostle  is  a  practical  polyga- 
mist,  as  are  all  the  rest,  but 
he  has  a  convenient  way  of 
utilizing  the  system.  He  mar- 
ries a  cook,  a  laundress,  a 
sempstress,  a  dairy-maid,  or 
any  servant  he  may  happen 
to  need-  It  is  so  much  cheap- 
er to  marry  domestics  than  to 
hire  them.  Under  the  latter 
arrangement  he  would  be 
compelled  to  pay  them  for 
their  services,  while  by  the 
former  he  is  only  obliged  to  give  them  shelter,  food,  and 
clothing.  His  wives  represent  nearly  every  nationality, 
and  when  visitors  come  to  the  house,  the  first  Mrs.  Hyde 
introduces  her  husband's  other  wives,  as  "  Mr.  Hyde's  Ger- 
man wife,  Mr-  Hyde's  English  wife,  Mr.  Hyde's  Danish 
wife,"  and  so  on,  until  all  are  presented. 

He  apostatized  in  1833,  and  made  some  remarkable  rev- 
elations concerning  Smith's  polygamous  practices,  but  he 
soon  found  his  way  back  into  the  church,  and  has  been  one 
of  the  most  stanch  allies  of  the  Prophet.  He  is  supposed 
to  have  been  connected  with  some  of  the  most  atrocious 
murders  which  have  been  committed  in  Utah.  William 
Hickman  implicated  him  most  seriously  in  his  confessions. 

Next  to  him  comes  Orson  Pratt,  who  has  six  wives  and 
several  children,  and  is  by  far  the  most  able  man  in  the 
church. 

The  other  apostles  are  John  Taylor,  the  happy  husband 
of  six  wives ;  Willard  Woodruff,  whose  kingdom  numbers 
but  four ;  Charles  C.  Rich,  who  has  an  indefinite  number 
of  wives  and  fifty  children  ;  Lorenzo  Snow  ;  Erastus  Snow, 
whose  kingdom  is  the  size  of  Woodruff's ;  Franklin  D. 
Richards,  who  has  five  wives  of  his  own,  and  in  addition 


580  THE    SACRED    SEVENTIES. 

has  five  "proxies,"  who,  before  becoming  his  wives,  held 
the  less  responsible  positions  of  aunts-in-law.  On  his  un- 
cle's death,  Richards  assumed  the  earthly  care  of  them, 
and  promoted  them  to  be  members  of  his  own  family ; 
George  Q^  Cannon,  the  Mormon  politician,  who  repudi- 
ates polygamy  in  Washington,  but  is  one  of  its  most  ardent 
supperters,  both  theoretically  and  practically,  at  home, 
having  four  wives  and  thirteen  children  ;  Brigham  Young, 
Jr.,  whose  family  has  already  been  described;  Joseph  F. 
Smith,  who  has  three  wives ;  and  Albert  Carrington,  who 
holds  the  office  of  Church  Historian. 


THE  OLD  MORMON  TABERNACLE. 

The  apostles  have  a  general  supervision  of  the  Territory. 
They  also  go  on  missions,  edit  magazines,  or  take  charge 
of  the  newly  selected  "stakes." 

The  working  body  of  male  Mormons  is  divided  into 
seventy  quorums,  each  having  seventy  members.  Each 
quorum  has  a  president,  and  these  constitute  the  "  Seventy." 
These  presidents  also  have  a  president,  who  ranks  next  to 
the  apostles.  This  body,  the  Quorum  of  Seventies,  might 
with  propriety  be  called  the  Mormon  Missionary  Board,  as 
they  attend  to  all  matters  connected  with  the  propagation 


A   PROFITABLE    BUSINESS.  581 

of  the  faith.  The  present  president  is  Joseph  Young, 
brother  to  Brigham. 

In  the  year  1834,  while  the  Saints  were  in  Kirtland, 
Brigham's  father  expressed  a  desire  to  bless  his  children 
before  he  died,  as  did  the  patriarchs  of  old.  On  mention- 
ing the  subject  to  Joseph  Smith,  he,  as  usual,  had  a  reve- 
lation that  the  Lord  wished  every  father  to  bless  his  chil- 
dren, and  that  there  should  be  Patriarchs  set  apart  to  bless 
those  who  had  no  father  in  the  church.  The  first  Patri- 
arch was  "Old  Father  Smith,"  Joseph's  father,  and  his 
business  was  to  bless  all  the  fatherless  who  applied  to  him 
for  blessing.  At  that  time  blessings  were  free  for  all  who 
sought  them ;  but  when  the  first  Patriarch  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Hyrum,  the  business  became  so  en- 
grossing that  it  was  thought  best  to  charge  one  dollar  for 
every  person  blessed.  Hyrum  was  succeeded  by  "  Uncle 
John  Smith,"  his  cousin,  and  he  by  William  Smith,  son  of 
Hyrum.  The  only  necessary  qualification  for  this  office  is 
to  be  a  Smith,  and  in  some  way  a  relative  or  descendant 
of  the  Prophet. 

These  "  blessings  "  are  rather  wonderful  affairs ;  they 
promise  all  sorts  of  things,  in  a  vague,  indefinite  way,  if 
only  the  recipient  proves  "faithful."  Some  are  assured 
"they  shall  never  taste  death,  but  live  until  Christ  comes, 
and  be  caught  up  to  meet  Him  in  the  air ; "  others  are  as- 
sured that  they  are  to  have  the  privilege  of  redeeming  their 
dead  so  far  back,  that  there  shall  not  be  a  broken  link  in 
the  chain.  Absurd  as  all  this  seems,  there  are  hundreds 
of  Saints  who  believe  that  "  every  word  shall  be  fulfilled," 
as  they  are  sometimes  promised  unconditionally,  and  the 
office  of  Patriarch  is  quite  a  profitable  one,  now  that  the 
price  of  blessings  has  been  advanced  to  two  dollars. 

The  bishops  act  at  once  as  ecclesiasts,  directors  of  mu- 
nicipal affairs,  and  judges  of  probate.  Salt  Lake  City  has 
twenty-one  wards,  each  of  which  has  a  bishop  over  it. 
The  entire  Territory  is  also  divided  into  wards,  each  with 


582  THE    ORDER    OF   ENOCH. 

its  governing  bishop.  Their  duty  is  to  settle  disputes  in 
the  church,  and  to  act  as  general  spies  and  reporters,  alike 
over  Mormons  and  Gentiles. 

In  this  last  duty  they  are  assisted  by  the  Ward  Teachers, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  visit  all  the  people  in  their  ward,  report 
all  suspected  persons,  catechise  every  one,  and  discover  all 
heresies,  false  doctrines,  and  schisms  among  the  people, 
who  are  obliged  to  answer  every  question  which  is  asked 
them,  reserving  nothing.  Through  these  spies  and  inform- 
ers, and  their  superiors  the  bishops,  Brigham  knows  all  the 
most  private  affairs  connected  with  every  individual,  and 
this  knowledge  serves  to  render  more  binding  his  hold  on 
this  people. 

Although  the  Ward  Teachers  are  subordinate  to  the 
bishops,  indeed,  are  the  agents  by  which  the  latter  do  their 
work,  they  do  not  rank  next  to  them.  This  position  is  held 
by  the  High  Counsel.  This  body  constitutes  a  sort  of 
court  of  appeals,  when  the  bishops  do  not  give  satisfaction 
to  litigants.  Appeal  may  be  made  from  the  High  Counsel 
to  the  First  Presidency. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  church,  the  duty  was  strongly 
enjoined  of  consecrating  all  the  possessions  to  the  Lord ; 
and  this  was  not  to  be  a  figurative,  but  a  real  consecration  ; 
in  which  all  the  possessions  were  to  be  catalogued  and  con- 
secrated in  legal  form,  and  the  transaction  authenticated 
by  witnesses.  The  custodian  of  this  property  was  to  be  a 
"Trustee  in  Trust,"  the  community  into  which  the  faithful 
Saint  thus  entered  was  to  be  called  "  The  United  Order  of 
Enoch,"  and  the  property  was  to  be  held  for  the  benefit  of 
this  community. 

The  Saints  did  not  take  kindly  to  the  Order,  and  it  ex- 
isted in  theory  merely.  Within  a  year  or  two  Brigham 
has  been  making  the  most  arduous  efforts  to  bring  his  fol- 
lowers into  this  community,  meeting,  however,  with  very 
little  better  success  than  its  founders.  When  he  first  pro- 
posed its  re-establishment,  it  was  decidedly  opposed  in  the 


A    SAINTLY    QUARREL.  583 

Tabernacle,  by  the  apostles  Orson  Pratt,  John  Taylor,  and 
George  Q±  Cannon,  and  a  regular  quarrel  took  place ;  the 
Prophet  and  his  dissenting  followers  parting,  each  with  a 
firm  determination  not  to  yield  to  the  other  side.  The  next 
week  the  four  went  north  on  a  preaching  tour,  and  labored 
harmoniously  together  in  the  attempt  to  build  up  the 
Order. 

Whoever  joins  this  community  gives  all  his  earthly  pos- 
sessions into  the  keeping  of  Brigham  Young.  His  chil- 
dren, too,  are  required  to  sign  away  all  claim  or  title  to  the 
property ;  if  any  are  too  young  to  write,  the  pen  is  given 
them,  and  their  hands  guided  by  their  elders,  and  they  are 
thus  deprived  of  their  rightful  patrimony ;  and  in  return  for 
all  this,  the  family  is  to  be  furnished  with  what  food  and 
clothing  the  officers  think  they  require. 

As  Brigham  and  his  co-workers  journeyed  northward, 
he  telegraphed  to  the  bishops  of  the  various  settlements 
through  which  he  would  pass,  informing  them  what  time 
he  would  visit  them,  and  requesting  them  to  call  special 
meetings  of  the  residents  of  their  wards  before  his  arrival, 
and  read  to  them  the  following  telegram  :  "  I  am  coming 
north,  organizing  branches  of  the  Order  of  Enoch ;  how 
many  of  you  are  willing  to  join  the  Order  without  knowing 
anything  about  it?" 

In  the  little  town  of  Fillmore  seventy-five  men  responded 
to  the  call  for  a  meeting,  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  fifty 
of  those  men  voted  to  join  the  "Order."  They  fully  un- 
derstood that  all  on  becoming  members  were  required  to 
deed  their  property  to  the  "  Trustee  in  Trust,"  otherwise, 
"Brigham  Young,  his  heirs,  executors,  and  assigns,"  yet 
they  decided,  with  full  knowledge  of  this,  to  make  a  blind 
investment  of  all  their  "  worldly  gear,"  and  upon  the  arri- 
val of  the  religious  Autocrat,  one  half  of  the  remaining 
twenty-five  accepted  the  situation,  and  signed  their  names 
to  an  agreement  binding  themselves  to  obey  "  Enoch's " 
requirements.  The  following  were  the  unanswerable  argu- 


584  A    GIGANTIC    FRAUD. 

ments  which  Brigham  used  to  secure  their  conversion  :  w  I 
want  you  to  understand  that  the  car  (meaning  Enoch)  is 
rolling  on.  The  set  time  of  the  Lord  has  come,  and  no 
man  can  stay  its  progress.  If  you  do  not  want  to  be  run 
over,  jump  on,  or  get  out  of  the  way.  I  do  not  want  a  part 
of  your  property,  I  want  it  all.  If  there  are  any  of  you 
who  cannot  abide  the  requirements  of  the  Lord,  I  do  not 
want  you  to  come  near  me,  or  to  speak  to  me.  I  feel  as 
far  above  you  as  the  heavens  are  above  the  earth." 

Those  who  became  members  of  this  branch  of  Enoch 
worked  well,  determined  to  make  it  a  success.  All  labored 
together  for  the  interest  of  the  Order,  and  were  credited  a 
certain  sum,  I  think  fifteen  cents  an  hour.  They  were 
economical,  hoping  to  make  the  books  show  a  balance  in 
their  favor,  after  deducting  expenses  of  sustaining  their 
families.  But  there  were  so  many  sinecures,  and  so  much 
mismanagement,  that  after  the  lapse  of  one  single  summer 
an  investigation  of  affairs  became  necessary,  and  the  fact 
became  known  that  their  divinely  directed  labors  had  not 
paid  the  running  expenses  of  the  institution.  Many  who 
had  expected  that  the  records  would  exhibit  a  balance  in 
their  favor,  awoke  to  the  disagreeable  fact  that  they,  .as  co- 
partners in  the  United  Order,  the  grand  scheme  that  was  to 
reconcile  "the  irrepressible  conflict  between  capital  and 
labor,"  must  discount  the  sum  stipulated  as  payment  for 
their  services.  And  they  are  at  present  'in  debt  for  the 
commonest  necessaries  of  life  consumed  during  their  short- 
lived experiment. 

A  similar  condition  of  affairs  exists  wherever  this  gigan- 
tic swindle  has  been  in  operation.  And  while  Brigham 
has  been  gloating  over  his  ill-gotten  gains,  he  has  bound 
these  poor  victims  more  firmly  to  himself  by  the  terrible 
bondage  of  debt.  The  wildest  dissatisfaction  exists,  and 
in  nearly  every  county  the  Order  may  be  regarded  as  dead, 
and  beyond  even  the  power  of  Brigham  Young  to  restore. 

The  Tithing  System  is  a  direct  outgrowth  of  "Enoch/* 


MORMON    TITHING. 


585 


When  Joseph  saw  that  the  people  did  not  take  kindly  to  his 
community  plan,  he  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  some  other 
means  of  raising  a  permanent  fund  for  the  church,  and 
Orson  Pratt  proposed  that  every  member  should  every  year 
be  obliged  to  pay  one  tenth  of  his  income,  out  of  which  the 
church  should  be  supported.  This  plan  met  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  officers,  and  it  has  been  continued  ever  since. 
Every  town  has  its  tithing-house,  which  is  in  charge  of 
the  local  bishop.  He  takes  charge  of  all  the  goods  that  are 


MORMON  TITHING  STORE  AND  OFFICE  OF  DESERET  NEWS. 

brought  in,  usually  paying  himself  a  handsome  commis- 
sion, and  sees,  when  any  quantity  has  been  gathered,  that 
it  is  transported  to  the  large  tithing-house  in  Salt  Lake 
City. 

This  tithing-house  is  under  the  direct  control  of  Brigham 
Young,  and  he,  his  counsellors  and  clerks,  have  the  first 
choice  of  all  the  goods  that  are  brought  in ;  the  remaining 
stores  are  dealt  out  as  payment  to  the  poor  men  who  are 
employed  by  Brigham  as  laborers.  I  have  seen  the  tithing- 


586  THE    CO-OPERATIVE 

store  beseiged  by  a  crowd  of  tired,  care-worn  women,  wives 
of  these  men,  waiting  for  their  turn  to  be  served.  Some- 
times a  poor  woman  will  stand  all  day  waiting  for  a  sack 
of  flour,  a  basket  of  potatoes,  or  a  quart  of  molasses.  Let 
the  day  be  ever  so  cold  or  stormy,  there  she  must  wait, 
until  the  clerks  see  fit  to  attend  to  her  wants. 

Everything  is  received  here  in  payment  for  tithing  :  hay, 
grain,  vegetables,  butter,  cheese,  wool,  or  any  other  prod- 
uct. If  a  man  has  not  money,  he  must  give  one  tenth  of 
what  he  has.  It  matters  little  whether  he  can  afford  it; 
the  church  demands  it,  and  "  the  church  "  gets  it. 

The  nearest  approach  to  the  practical  realization  of  the 
Order  of  Enoch  was  what  is  called  Zion's  Co-operative 
Mercantile  Institution.  This  was  a  great  commercial  cor- 
poration, engaged  in  buying  and  selling  the  produce  of  the 
people,  and  supplying  them  with  every  kind  of  merchan- 
dise needed  in  a  new  country.  The  stock  was  held  by  the 
people  of  the  Territory,  and  branches  of  the  parent  con- 
cern were  scattered  throughout  all  the  leading  settlements ; 
so  that  all  the  commercial  exchanges  of  the  country  might 
be  made  through  this  establishment.  It  was  designed  to 
destroy  the  business  of  Gentile  merchants  in  Zion,  and  ac- 
cordingly all  were  commanded  to  patronize  it ;  but  the 
completion  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  and  the  influx  of  Gen- 
tiles, came  to  the  relief  of  the  proscribed  merchants ;  their 
goods,  too,  were  of  a  better  class,  and  there  was  a  greater 
opportunity  for  selection,  so  that  Mormons  and  Gentiles 
alike  patronized  them ;  and  at  the  present  time,  while  the 
Co-operative  Institution  seems  tottering  to  its  fall,  in  spite 
of  the  frantic  attempts  of  Brigham  and  his  assistants  to 
prop  it  up  and  make  it  secure,  the  Gentile  houses  are  rap- 
idly gaining  in  wealth  and  credit. 

Most  of  Brigham's  "  revelations  "  have  met  with  about 
the  same  degree  of  success  in  their  attempted  carrying  out. 
His  project  of  making  silk,  and  another  equally  wild  scheme 
of  producing  sugar  from  beet-roots,  were  gigantic  failures, 


MORE    INSPIRATIONS. 


587 


although  he  will  not  acknowledge  it.  Two  more  of  his 
"inspirations"  are  kept  in  the  minds  of  the  Saints,  by  being 
so  constantly  before  their  eyes.  The  unfinished  mud  wall, 
which  was  to  protect  the  city  from  invasion,  and  the  divinely 
projected  canal,  which  was  to  bring  the  stone  for  the  new 
Temple  from  the  quarries  to  Salt  Lake  City,  and  which 
Brigham  announced  that  he  had  seen  just  as  distinctly 
in  a  "  vision "  as  he  "  ever  should  with  his  natural  eyes." 
A  large  amount  of  money,  and  a  great  deal  of  hard  labor 


ERIGHAM'S  CANAL. 

was  expended  on  these  enterprises ;  all  of  which  is  a  total 
loss. 

Brigham  is  shrewd  enough  to  see  that "  revelation  "  is  not 
one  of  his  strong  points,  and  he  rarely  attempts  it;  less 
frequently  now  than  formerly,  even.  The  catch-words, 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  are  not  nearly  so  potent  as  they 
were  before  the  Saints  came  so  much  in  contact  with  the 
Gentile  world,  and  unconsciously  lost  some  of  their  super- 
stition. They  do  not  openly  laugh  at  Brigham's  prophecies, 
but  a  few  of  the  more  honest  and  far-seeing  venture  to 


588  INTELLIGENT    MORMONS. 

criticise  him  very  quietly,  although  they  submit  to  his  rule, 
and  are  seemingly  as  good  Saints  as  ever.  They  are  not 
ready  to  apostatize  ;  their  interests  and  associations  bind  them 
to  the  church,  and  they  do  not  wish  to  leave  it.  Some  cling 
to  it,  like  George  Q^.  Cannon,  through  ambition ;  for  that 
young  apostle  dares  to  cast  his  eyes  toward  Brigham's  posi- 
tion, and  has  expressed  the  belief  that  he  might  ultimately 
succeed  him.  Others,  like  Orson  Pratt,  are  so  closely  identi- 
fied with  it,  that  they  cannot  and  would  not  cut  themselves 
adrift  from  it.  The  church  is  their  life,  and  they  will  only 
leave  one  when  they  are  compelled  to  give  up  the  other. 
Another  class,  to  which  Brigham's  sons  notably  belong, 
stay  because  their  pecuniary  interests  demand  it.  It  "pays" 
to  be  a  Mormon.  But  when  once  the  present  ruler  is  taken, 
they  will  have  nothing  to  hold  them,  and  they  will  do 
openly  what  they  have  long  since  done  in  their  hearts,  — 
repudiate  Mormonism,  and  all  its  superstitions  and  prac- 
tices. And  I  am  morally  certain  that  the  first  one  to  take 
advantage  of  his  newly-obtained  liberty  will  be  John  W. 
Young,  who  is  even  now  known  as  "the  Prophet's  Apos- 
tate Son,"  and  who  yet,  in  spite  of  his  apostasy,  holds  the 
position  of  "President  of  the  Salt  Lake  State  of  Zion," 
with  the  rank  of  bishop. 


CHAPTER    XL. 


THE    CONDITION    OF    MORMON    WOMEN.  —  HIGH    AND 
LOW   LIFE   IN   POLYGAMY. 

Increasing  Light.  —  The  Equality  of  the  Sexes.  —  Exaggeration   Impos- 
sible. —  Likely  Saviours.  —  The  Present  Condition  of  Mormon  Women. 

—  The  Prospects  for  the  Future.  —  Polygamy  Bad  for  Rich  and  Poor. 

—  A   Happy   Family.  —  The    Happiness    Marred.  —  Sealed   for   Time 
Only.  —  Building  on  Another  Man's  Foundation.  —  The  New  Wife.  — 
How  the  Old  One  Fared.  —  The  Husband's  Death  a  Relief.  —Asa  Cal- 
kins's  English  Mission. — What  Came  of  It.  —  How  to  Get  Rich. — 
Two   Sermons   from   One   Text.  —  Dividing  the    Spoil.  —  No  Woman 
Happy  in  Polygamy. 

LL  this  while  I  was  gain- 
ing knowledge  of  the 
domestic  customs  and 
relations  of  the  "  Gen- 
tiles." At  nearly  every 
place  that  I  visited  I 
was  entertained  in  some 
private  family,  and  my 
eyes  were  constantly 
being  opened  to  the 
enormities  of  the  wicked 
system  from  which  I  had 
escaped. 

I  had  felt  its  misery ; 
I  had  known  the  abject 
wretchedness  of  the 

POLYGAMY  IN  HIGH  AND  Low  LIFE.  condition       to      which       it 

reduced  women,  but  I  did  not  fully  realize  the  extent  of 
its  depravity,  the  depths  of  the  woes  in  which  it  plunged 


590  WOMAN'S  DEGRADATION. 

women,   until   I   saw   the   contrasted  lives  of  monogamic 
wives. 

I  had  seen  women  neglected,  or,  worse  than  that,  cruelly 
wronged,  every  attribute  of  womanhood  outraged  and  in- 
sulted. I  now  saw  other  women,  holding  the  same  rela- 
tion, cared  for  tenderly,  cherished,  protected,  loved,  and 
honored.  I  had  been  taught  to  believe  that  my  sex  was 
inferior  to  the  other ;  that  the  curse  pronounced  upon  the 
race  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  was  woman's  curse  alone,  and 
that  it  was  to  man  that  she  must  look  for  salvation.  No 
road  lay  open  for  her  to  the  throne  of  grace ;  no  gate  of 
eternal  life  swinging  wide  to  the  knockings  of  her  weary 
hands ;  no  loving  Father  listened  to  the  wails  of  sorrow 
and  supplication  wrung  by  a  worse  than  death-agony  from 
her  broken  heart.  Heaven  was  inaccessible  to  her,  except 
as  she  might  win  it  through  some  man's  will.  I  found,  to 
my  surprise,  that  woman  was  made  the  companion  and  not 
the  subject  of  man.  She  was  the  sharer  alike  of  his  joys 
and  his  sorrows.  Morally,  she  was  a  free  agent.  Her 
husband's  God  was  her  God  as  well,  and  she  could  seek 
Him  for  herself,  asking  no  mortal  intercession.  Mother- 
hood took  on  a  new  sacredness,  and  the  fatherly  care  and 
tenderness,  brooding  over  a  family,  strengthening  and  de- 
fending it,  seemed  sadly  sweet  to  me,  used  as  I  was  to  see 
children  ignored  by  their  fathers. 

Seeing  this,  I  began  to  comprehend  a  little  why  it  was  so 
difficult  to  make  the  state  of  affairs  in  Utah  understood. 
The  contrast  was  so  very  great  that,  unless  it  was  seen,  it- 
could  not  be  realized,  even  ever  so  faintly.  I  feel  some- 
times, both  in  speaking  to  audiences,  and  in  private  conver- 
sations, the  thrill  of  shocked  surprise  which  runs  through 
my  listeners'  veins  as  I  relate  some  particular  atrocity,  or 
narrate  some  fearful  wrong,  which  has  been  suffered  either 
by  myself  or  some  person  known  to  me ;  but  even  then  I 
know  the  enormity  of  the  system  which  permits  such  things 
to  be  possible  is  but  vaguely  understood. 


MEN    THE    MORMON    SAVIOURS.  59! 

I  am  accused  sometimes  of  exaggeration.  In  reply  to 
that  accusation  I  would  say,  that  is  simply  impossible,  I 
could  not  exaggerate,  since  language  is  inadequate  to  even 
half  unveil  the  horrors.  There  are  events  of  daily  occur- 
rence which  decency  and  womanly  modesty  forbid  my  even 
hinting  at.  No  one  can,  even  if  they  would,  quite  tear  the 
covering  away  from  the  foul,  loathsome  object,  called 
*  Celestial  Marriage,"  reeking  as  it  is  with  filth  and  moral 
poison ;  rotten  to  the  very  core  ;  a  leprous  spot  on  the  body 
politic ;  a  defilement  to  our  fair  fame  as  a  nation.  I  am 
compelled  to  silence  on  points  that  would  make  what  I  have 
already  said  seem  tame  in  comparison.  Not  a  word  of  all 
my  story  is  exaggerated  or  embellished.  The  difficulty  has 
been  rather  to  suppress  and  tone  down. 

Women  are  the  greatest  sufferers.  The  moral  natures 
of  the  men  must  necessarily  suffer  also  ;  but  to  them  comes 
no  such  agony  of  soul  as  comes  to  women.  Their  sensi- 
bilities are  blunted  ;  their  spiritual  natures  deadened  ;  their 
animal  natures  quickened ;  they  lose  manliness,  and  de- 
scend to  the  level  of  brutes ;  and  these  dull-witted,  intel- 
lectually-dwarfed moral  corpses,  the  women  are  told,  are 
their  only  saviours. 

What  wonder  that  they,  too,  become  dull  and  apathetic? 
Who  wonders  at  the  immovable  mouths,  expressionless 
eyes,  and  gray,  hopeless  faces,  which  tourists  mark  always 
as  the  characteristics  of  the  Mormon  women  ?  What  does 
life  offer  to  make  them  otherwise  than  dull  and  hopeless? 
Or  what  even  does  eternity  promise  ?  A  continuation  merely 
of  the  sufferings  which  have  already  crushed  the  woman- 
hood out  of  them.  A  cheering  prospect,  is  it  not?  Yet  it 
is  what  every  poor  Mormon  woman  has  to  look  forward  to. 
Just  that,  and  nothing  more. 

Rich  or  poor  alike  suffer.  Polygamy  bears  no  more 
lightly  on  the  one  than  the  other.  If  they  are  poor,  they 
have  to  work  for  themselves  and  their  children,  suffer  every 
deprivation,  submit  to  every  indignity.  If  they  are  in  more 


592  SEALED   FOR   TIME    ONLY. 

affluent  circumstances,  they  have  more  time  for  brooding 
over  their  sorrows,  more  leisure  for  the  exercise  of  the 
natural  jealousy  which  they  cannot  help  feeling  for  the  other 
wives.  Happiness  and  contentment  are  utterly  unknown  to 
Mormon  women ;  they  are  impossible  conditions,  either  to 
dwellers  in  poverty  or  plenty. 

A  few  years  ago,  a  man  and  wife  of  the  name  of 
Painter,  decided  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  Saints,  and 
enroll  themselves  among  the  Lord's  chosen  people.  The 
woman  had  been  previously  married,  and  her  husband  had 
died  shortly  after  his  conversion  to  the  Mormon  faith.  The 
elders  urged  her  marrying  again,  and,  after  a  time,  she 
found  her  heart  adding  its  persuasions  to  the  "  counsel "  of 
the  brethren,  and  she  married  William  Painter,  an  honest, 
kind-hearted  fellow,  who  made  her  a  good  husband,  and 
with  whom  she  lived  very  happily. 

As  soon  as  possible  they  came  to  America,  but  that  was 
not  until  their  family  had  been  increased  by  two  or  three 
children,  who  were  alike  the  objects  of  the  mother's  care 
and  the  father's  pride.  Although  they  were  poor,  hard- 
working people,  I  have  never  known  a  happier  family  than 
this  when  they  first  came  to  Utah. 

Like  all  new  arrivals  they  were  anxious  to  receive  their 
Endowments,  and  it  was  shortly  arranged  for  them  to  go 
through  the  rites.  When  they  presented  themselves  at  the 
Endowment  House,  Heber  C.  Kimball  told  the  wife  that 
she  could  only  be  sealed  to  her  present  husband  for  time. 
She  must  belong  to  her  first  husband  in  eternity,  he  having 
died  in  the  faith.  She  was  not  at  liberty  to  deprive  him  of 
his  privileges,  or  to  rob  him  of  his  kingdom. 

The  poor  woman  felt  very  badly,  for  this  man  was  the 
father  of  her  children,  and  she  felt  that  her  claim  on  him 
should  be  the  strongest ;  but  the  authorities  refused  to  see 
the  matter  as  she  did,  and  insisted  that  the  sealing  should 
be  only  for  time.  There  was  no  help  for  it,  and  the  poor 
woman  was  obliged  to  submit.  Neither  was  the  husband 


593 

satisfied.  It  did  not  suit  him  to  "build  a  kingdom  on  an- 
other man's  foundation  ;  "  he  must  commence  one  for  him- 
self; and,  in  obedience  to  counsel,  he  looked  about  dili- 
gently for  a  wife  "  all  his  own."  He  was  not  long  in  find- 
ing one,  and,  greatly  to  his  wife's  distress,  he  brought 
home  an  ignorant  young  girl,  who  turned  the  house  topsy- 
turvy in  her  endeavors  to  exercise  the  authority  which  she 
arrogated  to  herself.  The  first  wife  considered  that  she 
had  some  rights  still  remaining,  and  that,  certainly,  she 
might  dictate  somewhat  concerning  household  affairs,  as 
she  had  been  so  long  the  ruling  power,  and  understood  the 
manner  of  regulating  and  running  the  domestic  machinery ; 
but  the  new-comer  claimed  entire  supremacy,  declaring 
that  she  was  "the  only  wife  William  had,"  her  rival  be- 
longing to  another  man. 

Strange  as  it  ma^y  seem,  the  husband  took  sides  instantly 
with  the  new-comer  against  the  woman  who  had  been  a 
faithful  wife  for  years,  and  was  the  mother  of  his  children. 
She  ruled  the  household  affairs,  the  first  wife,  and  even  the 
husband  and  all  were  compelled  to  submit  to  her  decision. 
She  heaped  every  indignity  upon  the  poor  wife,  even  re- 
sorting to  personal  violence,  and  the  victim  could  obtain 
neither  sympathy  nor  redress.  She  was  compelled  to  live 
under  the  same  roof  with  her  rival,  as  her  husband's  means 
would  not  admit  of  two  establishments,  and  for  several 
years  she  endured  the  misery  silently.  We  all  knew  her 
to  be  very  unhappy,  and  we  pitied  her  extremely.  She 
was  our  near  neighbor,  and  the  nearest  approach  to  con- 
fidences which  she  ever  made  was  given  to  my  mother. 
But  we  did  not  know  for  a  long  time  how  very  much  she 
had  to  bear. 

One  cold  day,  in  the  midst  of  a  dreary  storm,  the  poor 
woman  came  rushing  into  our  house,  with  her  babe  in  her 
arms,  crying  bitterly.  She  sank  into  a  chair,  which  my 
mother  placed  for  her  near  the  fire ;  and  in  answer  to  the 
anxious  inquiries,  she  sobbed  out,  "  O,  sister  Webb,  I  have 
38 


594 


HOMELESS. 


left  my  home  and  my  husband.  I  have  been  compelled  to 
do  it.  I  can  endure  no  more.  If  you  knew  all,  I  am  sure 
you1  would  not  blame  me  !  " 

Mother  inquired  what  it  was  that  had  occasioned  this 
new  rupture,  and  brought  her  to  this  final  decision. 

The  poor,  distressed  creature  replied,  that  her  husband 
had  taken  Emma,  the  second  wife,  and  gone  on  a  visit  of 
several  days  to  some  relatives,  leaving  her  and  the  children 
utterly  unprovided  either  with  food  or  fire,  and  they  were 
nearly  perishing  with  cold  and  hunger.  She  had  sent  the 


DRIVEN  FROM  HOME. 


other  children  to  another  neighbor's  to  get  warm,  and  she 
and  the  younger  ones  had  taken  refuge  with  us. 

In  two  or  three  days  the  husband  returned,  and  finding 
where  his  wife  was,  compelled  her  to  come  back  to  him, 
by  threats  of  taking  the  children  from  her  unless  she  did. 
After  a  few  years  he  died,  and  what  little  property  there 
was  the  young  wife  claimed.  The  first  wife  appealed  to 


IMITATING   ABRAHAM.  595 

the  church  authorities,  but  they  upheld  the  last  wife's 
claims,  and  she  was  driven  penniless  away  with  her  chil- 
dren. She  had  to  support  herself  and  them ;  but  she  used 
frankly  to  say,  that  she  was  happier  than  she  had  been  for 
years,  and  that  her  husband's  death  was  a  positive  relief  to 
her.  I  knew  this  woman  well,  and  I  knew  that  no  more 
worthy  woman  lived  than  she.  Polygamy  blighted  her 
life,  and  made  a  miserable  dependent  of  one  who  would 
have  been,  in  other  circumstances,  a  happy  wife. 

About  fifteen  years  since,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Asa 
Calkins  was  sent  by  Brigham  Young  to  preside  over  the 
Saints  in  the  British  Isles.  He  left  two  wives  in  Salt  Lake, 
but  on  his  arrival  in  England,  he  met  with  a  young  lady 
who  completely  fascinated  him,  and  having  obtained  the 
permission  of  his  Prophet  to  marry  while  on  the  mission, 
began  paying  her  the  most  devoted  attention. 

He  met  with  no  difficulty  in  his  wooing,  and  no  obstacle 
was  placed  in  the  way  of  his  speedy  marriage.  After  the 
marriage,  he  informed  his  wives  in  Utah  of  the  event,  and 
they  received  the  news  with  resignation,  as  they  expected 
nothing  different.  But  he  was  not  so  frank  with  the  new 
wife.  Brigham  had  told  him,  when  he  gave  him  permis- 
sion to  marry,  to  say  nothing  about  his  other  wives,  so  the 
young  English  lady  supposed  herself  to  be  the  only  Mrs. 
Calkins.  About  two  years  after  the  marriage,  the  first 
went  to  some  of  the  Eastern  states  on  a  visit  to  some  rela- 
tives. While  there  her  health  became  impaired,  and  on 
being  advised  that  a  sea-voyage  would  benefit  her,  wrote  at 
once  to  her  husband  in  Liverpool,  asking  permission  to 
join  him  in  England. 

He  said,  in  reply,  that  she  might  come,  if  she  was  willing 
to  pass  as  his  sister,  as  he  had  all  the  wife  there  that  the 
English  law  would  allow.  As  she  felt  obliged  to  take  the 
voyage  on  account  of  her  failing  health,  she  agreed  to  do 
as  he  desired. 

On  her  arrival  at  Liverpool,  she  found  her  husband  so 


596  APPEASING   BRIGHAM'S  WRATH. 

infatuated  with  his  new  wife  that  he  scarcely  noticed  her  at 
all,  and  she  almost  regretted  having  crossed  the  sea ;  yet 
she  saw  no  way  of  escape  from  the  trial,  as  she  was  to  re- 
main there  until  her  husband's  mission  was  ended,  which 
would  not  be  for  two  years  at  least. 

Mr.  Calkins  almost  entirely  ignored  the  existence  of  his 
first  wife,  and,  taking  Agnes,  travelled  all  over  Europe, 
introducing  her  everywhere  as  Mrs.  Calkins,  while  the 
poor  "  sister  "  remained  in  Liverpool.  He  lavished  every 
luxury  of  dress  and  ornament  upon  his  idol,  while  the  poor, 
neglected  wife  was  supplied  with  the  merest  necessities 
of  life. 

In  course  of  time,  they  all  returned  to  Zion ;  but  Agnes 
still  remained  the  favorite  wife.  Calkins  had  always  been 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  Saints,  but  he  returned  from  his 
mission  a  rich  man.  About  the  time  of  his  return  we  often 
heard  rumors  concerning  his  manner  of  obtaining  this 
wealth,  which  were  not  altogether  creditable  to  him,  and, 
consequently,  no  one  was  surprised  to  hear  brother  Brigham 
apply  the  lash  to  the  delinquent  missionary  the  Sabbath 
after  his  arrival  at  Salt  Lake,  for  what  he  was  pleased  to 
term  a  species  of  highway  robbery.  The  Saints  universally 
believed  that  the  man  merited  the  rebuke.  But  the  sur- 
prise came  the  Sabbath  following.  Brigham  changed  his 
tactics,  and  put  in  a  warm  plea  in  the  missionary's  defence. 
He  said  that  he  had  not  distinctly  understood  all  about 
Brother  Calkins's  course  in  England  until  some  time  during 
the  previous  week,  when  he  had  visited  him,  and  explained 
matters  to  his  entire  satisfaction.  He  omitted  to  state  that 
" Brother  Calkins"  not  only  visited  him,  but  divided  the 
spoils  with  him,  his  own  share  amounting  to  several  thou- 
sand dollars. 

Mr.  Calkins  was  restored  to  favor.  The  English  Mrs. 
Calkins  was  recognized  as  the  chosen  wife,  and  the  other 
two  were  merely  tolerated,  and  were  obliged  to  see  their 


POLYGAMY   A    CRIME.  597 

husband's  devotion  and  wealth  lavished  on  her,  while  they 
starved  for  love  and  lacked  for  comforts. 

These  two  cases  show  the  workings  of  the  polygamic  sys- 
tem in  the  families  of  the  rich  and  the  poor.  It  is  as  hate- 
ful in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other,  and  equally  productive 
of  misery  in  both. 

I  have  yet  to  learn  of  one  woman  who  is  happy  in  it. 
Like  Zina  Young,  they  say,  "  The  system  must  be  right,  I 
suppose  ;  we  are  taught  that  it  is.  But  if  that  is  the  case, 
we  must  live  it  wrongly ;  there  is  fault  somewhere." 

There  is  worse  than  that.  There  is  positive  sin  ;  and  in 
her  heart  of  hearts,  no  woman  of  them  all  believes  it  to  be 
right,  although  she  may  try,  with  all  the  sophistry  at  her 
command,  to  convince  herself  that  it  is.  Her  heart  and  her 
reason  both  give  her  arguments  the  lie,  and  she  cannot  help 
but  heed  them,  even  when  she  counts  herself  a  sinner  for 
so  doing. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 

MY  RETURN  TO  UTAH.  —  SECRET  OF  BRIGHAM'S 
POWER.—  UTAH'S  FUTURE. 

I  return  to  Utah.  —  Reception  at  the  Walker  House.  —  Greeting  old 
Friends.  —  My  Love  for  the  Place.  —  Six  Lectures  in  the  Territory.  — 
Brigham's  Daughters  make  Faces  at  me.  —  My  Father  and  Mother  in 
the  Audience.  —  The  Half  not  told.  —  Multitudes  Pleading  for  Free- 
dom. —  Eastern  Newspaper  Reports.  —  Indiscretion.  —  The  Poland 
Bill.  —  Increase  of  Polygamy.  —  The  Secrets  of  Brigham's  Power.  — 
The  Pulpit  and  Press  on  Mormonism.  —  The  Salt  Lake  City  Tribune. 
—  A  Word  to  the  Sufferers.  —  Calls  for  Help.  —  The  Future  of  Utah. 


RECEIVING  MY  FRIENDS  AT  THE  WALKER  HOUSE. 


N  August,  1874,  I  re" 
turned  to  Salt  Lake  City  ; 
but  not  in  the  secret  way 
in  which  I  had  left  it 
months  before.  I  was 
met  with  every  expres- 
sion of  good  will,  and 
congratulations  and  wel- 
comes poured  in  upon 
me  from  every  side.  A 
reception  was  held  for 
me  at  the  Walker  House, 
and  I  had  the  opportu- 
nity of  greeting  again 
the  friends  who  had  so 
nobly  assisted  me  in  my 
struggles  for  freedom. 
Foremost  of  all, 


McKean,  the  truest,  most  upright,  and  inflexible  chief  j 
tice  who  had  ever  presided  over  the  Utah  courts  ;  the  man 


PLEASANT    GREETINGS. 


599 


who  could  neither  be  bribed  nor  cajoled  ;  who  did  right  for 
the  right's  sake,  and  who  consequently  had  gained  the 
enmity  of  Brigham  Young  and  his  followers,  but  who  was 
implicitly  trusted  by  all  lovers  of  justice ;  General  Max- 
well, too,  who  was  so  kindly  acting  for  me  in  my  suit; 
Colonel  Wickizer,  who  lent  his  room  for  my  trunk  to  be 
taken  to,  and  otherwise  assisted  me  in  my  flight  from  Utah ; 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stratton,  the  dearly  beloved  friends  who 


MY  RECEPTION  AT  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 

had   first   shown    me   the  possibilities  of  an    escape    from 
bondage  and  a  life  outside. 

This  welcome,  hearty  and  spontaneous,  touched  me 
deeply,  and  I  felt  then  that  however  much  my  interests 
might  be  drawn  away  from  Salt  Lake  City,  and  my  work 
lead  me  away  from  there  personally,  yet  it  was  my  home, 
its  people  were  my  people,  and  my  heart  would  always 
turn  lovingly  toward  it  to  the  day  of  my  death. 


6OO  LECTURING    IN    THE    TERRITORY. 

And  why  should  I  not  love  it?  I  had  grown  with  it,  and 
there  is  not  a  building  in  it  that  I  have  not  watched  as  it 
arose,  not  an  improvement  that  I  have  not  rejoiced  in.  I 
have  seen  a  lovely  city  spring  up  in  an  alkali  desert  as  if 
by  magic.  True,  I  have  suffered  there.  Many  of  its  asso- 
ciations are  bitter.  But  that  is  the  city  as  it  has  been  —  the 
Salt  Lake  of  the  past,  not  the  Salt  Lake  of  the  future,  as  I 
hope  its  future  will  be. 

During  the  summer,  I  lectured  six  times  in  the  city,  and 
several  times  in  other  towns  in  the  Territory.  Brigham  did 
not  attend  any  of  my  lectures,  but  he  sent  his  daughters 
and  daughters-in-law,  and  bade  them  sit  on  the  front  seats, 
and  make  faces  at  me.  They  filled  the  two  rows  nearest 
the  platform,  and,  as  I  saw  them  there,  my  heart  went  out 
in  pity  toward  them.  I  knew  all  of  them ;  many  of  them 
had  been  my  dear  friends  from  girlhood,  and  I  had  known 
how  unhappy  they  had  been  under  the  cruel  system  which 
I  was  fighting  against.  I  had  been  in  the  confidence  of 
several,  and  more  than  one  had  commiserated  me  upon  my 
unhappy  situation  while,  I  was  their  father's  wife.  Instead 
of  annoying  me,  and  causing  me  to  falter  and  break  down 
completely,  as  the  prophet  hoped,  it  only  lent  new  strength 
to  my  purpose,  new  fire  to  my  words.  I  knew  that  these 
women  sympathized  with  me  in  every  word  I  uttered,  and 
that  in  their  hearts  they  earnestly  wished  me  success. 

My  father  and  mother  were  in  my  audience,  too.  It  had 
required  a  great  deal  of  persuasion  to  induce  the  latter  to 
be  present,  but  she  finally  yielded  to  us  all,  and  went. 
Long  before  this  she  had  lost  her  faith  in  Mormonism,  and 
was  ranked  among  the  apostates.  Brigham's  attempts  to 
ruin  me  had  opened  her  eyes,  and  she  at  last  saw  him  as 
he  really  was.  I  think  no  one  rejoiced  in  my  success  more 
than  she  did,  and  certainly  no  one  else  has  had  power  to 
imbue  me  with  such  fresh  courage  and  strength.  And  now 
that  she  has  abandoned  Mormonism,  when  I  think  of  her, 
away  from  all  the  old  associations,  united  in  her  old  age  to 


AN    OLD    TRICK    OF    THE    MORMONS.  6oi 

the  friends  of  her  childhood,  happy  in  a  home  safe  from  the 
intrusion  of  polygamy,  every  shade  of  bigotry  blotted  out, 
her  reason  unfettered,  her  will  free,  I  am  happier  than  I 
ever  can  say ;  and  if  this  result  only  were  reached  in  the 
cases  of  the  other  women  of  the  Territory,  I  should  feel  that 
my  suffering  and  my  labors  had  not  been  in  vain. 

Next  to  these  lectures  in  Salt  Lake,  my  most  successful 
appearance  was  made  at  Provo,  where  I  spoke  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Rev.  C.  P.  Lyford,  the  pastor  of  the  Meth- 
odist church  in  that  place,  and  one  of  the  most  inveterate 
foes  of  Polygamy  and  Brigham  Young.  Three  years  ago 
Provo  was  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  Mormon 
strongholds  in  Utah.  Many  deeds  of  violence  had  been 
committed  there,  and  bigotry  in  its  worst  form  ruled  the 
people.  Mr.  Lyford,  young,  brave,  and  enthusiastic,  de- 
termined to  build  a  Gentile  church  there.  He  went  into  the 
work  cheerfully  and  determinedly,  although  he  was  warned 
to  leave  the  county,  his  life  threatened,  and  every  possible 
insult  and  indignity  offered  him.  But  he  could  not  be 
intimidated,  and  flatly  refused  to  leave;  and  now  he  has  a 
society  fully  organized,  a  church  built,  and  a  free  school 
established.  He  has  been  one  of  my  strongest  allies  and 
warmest  defenders,  and  I  owe  to  no  one  more  gratitude  than 
to  him. 

I  have  told  my  story  as  simply  as  I  could.  I  have  added 
nothing,  but  I  have  left  much  untold.  Another  volume,  as 
large  as  this,  would  not  contain  all  I  could  write  on  this 
subject.  My  life  is  but  the  life  of  one ;  while  thousands 
are  suffering,  as  I  suffered,  and  are  powerless  even  to  plead 
for  themselves,  so  I  plead  for  them.  The  voices  of  twenty 
thousand  wpmen  speak  in  mine,  begging  for  freedom  both 
from  social  and  religious  tyranny. 

I  take  up  papers,  and  I  read  letters  from  eastern  corre- 
spondents who  have  visited  Utah ;  and  while  I  do  not 
wonder  at  the  enthusiasm  which  they  display  concerning  the 
outward  beauty  of  this  city  of  the  desert,  I  marvel  at  the  blind- 


602  SLIGHTLY    INDISCREET. 

ness  which  fails  to  see  the  misery  of  the  majority  of  its 
people.  "Polygamy  is  on  the  decrease,"  they  almost  unan- 
imously exclaim;  "the  ballot  and  education  are  its  foes, 
and  it  cannot  stand  before  them  ;  the  young  people  will  not 
enter  the  system,  and  while  polygamous  marriages  diminish 
in  number,  monogamic  ones  steadily  increase." 

This  is  not  so.  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  the  story  which  is 
told  to  these  strangers  by  Mormons.  But  that  is  an  old  trick. 
They  have  been  accustomed,  in  other  days,  to  repudiate 
polygamy  while  practising  it  most  extensively.  They  are 
only  following  "  Brother  Joseph's  "  example.  He  denied  it, 
to  save  the  reputation  of  himself  and  his  followers  ;  and  they 
do  it  still,  when  they  wish  to  blind  the  Gentiles'  eyes,  and 
escape  their  criticism. 

Last  year,  as  the  records  will  show,  there  were  more 
polygamous  marriages  in  Utah  than  there  have  been  any 
previous  year  since  the  "  Reformation."  The  Order  of 
Enoch  and  Polygamy  are,  to-day,  Brigham's  two  strongest 
holds  on  the  people.  By  the  first,  he  holds  the  men  through 
sheer  necessity ;  for  all  who  have  entered  the  Order  have 
given  themselves  and  their  possessions  so  entirely  to  him, 
that  they  cannot,  by  any  possibility,  get  free.  By  the  other 
system,  he  holds  the  women  in  a  crueller  bondage  still. 
He  and  Cannon  may  repudiate  the  "  Celestial  Marriage " 
as  strongly  as  they  choose,  but  they  cannot  change  the  facts. 
They  are  more  shrewd,  but  not  so  honest  as  the  fellow  who 
was  seen  reeling  through  the  streets  of  Salt  Lake  City,  with 
a  bottle  under  each  arm,  shouting,  "I've  taken  a  new  wife 
to-day,  and  I'm  not  afraid  of  the  Poland  Bill."  They  do 
care  for  "the  Poland  Bill,"  or,  rather,  they  care  about  pub- 
lic opinion  very  much,  and  they  like  the  positions  which 
they  might  be  obliged  to  resign  if  they  ventured  to  claim 
the  legality  of  Polygamy. 

There  is  a  strong  working-power  against  it  in  its  very 
midst,  however,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  a  power  which 
must  prevail.  The  pulpit  and  press  combined  are  dealing 


GENTILE  INFLUENCE  IN  UTAH. 


6o3 


some  heavy  blows  upon  it,  and  it  cannot  always  stand  under 
it.  Instead  of  the  Mormon  church  being  the  only  church  in 
Utah,  nearly  every  denomination  is  represented  there  now, 
and  the  most  of  these  churches  have  schools  connected  with 
them, — such  superior  schools,  some  of  them,  that  a  few  of 
the  more  liberal  and  intelligent  Mormons  venture  to  send 
their  children  to  them. 

But  the  strongest  power  in  the  Territor}7"  against  Poly- 
gamy, —  the  most  implacable  and  relentless  foe  to  Brigham 
Young  and  his  pet  institution,  —  is  the  Salt  Lake  City 
Tribune,  the  leading  Gentile  paper  in  Utah.  It  is  owned 


NOT  AFRAID  OF  THE  POLAND  BILL.' 


by  a  stock  company,  composed  of  the  leading  Gentiles  in 
the  Territory;  is  ably  conducted,  and  is  hated  and  dreaded 
by  the  Mormons,  although  they  all  read  it.  It  has  been  my 
constant  friend,  and  has  stood  bravely  by  me  ever  since  I 
turned  my  back  on  my  false  faith,  and  sought  shelter  and 
friends  in  "  Babylon." 

It  is  a  power  in  politics.  When  Governor  Woods  — 
although  a  loyal  and  brave  officer  of  the  government  —  was 
removed  to  make  place  for  Axtell,  who  was  a  mere  tool  in 
the  Prophet's  hands,  the  indignant  utterances  of  the  paper 
made  themselves  felt  all  over  the  country ;  and  the  support- 
ers of  the  new  governor  in  Washington  grew  ashamed, 


604  WHAT    SHOULD    BE    DONE. 

and  he  was  removed  to  make  room  for  Governor  Emory, 
the. present  governor,  who,  as  yet,  has  shown  no  disposition 
to  assimilate  with  the  saintly  portion  of  his  subjects. 

Now,  as  I  approach  the  end  of  my  story,  I  turn  longing 
eyes  toward  my  old  home,  and  my  heart  goes  out  in  pity- 
ing tenderness  to  it  and  the  women  there.  To  them  I  want 
to  say,  Your  cause  is  my  cause,  your  wrongs  have  been  my 
wrongs  ;  and  while  you  are  still  bearing  them  patiently,  be- 
cause you  know  there  is  no  redress  ;  hopelessly,  because  while 
your  hearts  are  breaking,  you  see  no  avenue  of  escape,  I 
am  trying  the  best  I  know  to  make  the  way  easy  and  plain 
to  your  eyes,  dimmed  with  tears,  and  your  feet,  tired  of 
wandering  in  broken  paths.  Many  of  you,  I  know,  think 
that  I  am  wrong ;  you  believe,  as  I  once  did,  that  to  fight 
against  Brigham  Young,  and  his  will,  is  certain  damnation. 
You  mourn  for  me  as  one  lost ;  you  regard  me  with  pity ; 
but  yet,  in  your  hearts,  you  wish  to  believe  that  I  am  right; 
you  would  like  to  be  convinced  that  I  am.  Some  of  you 
are  certain  of  it,  but  you  do  not  see  your  own  way  out. 
The  darkness  closes  around  you  thicker  and  heavier,  and, 
tired  of  groping  about,  you  fold  your  hands  and  sit  in  an 
apathy  worse  than  death,  waiting  until  the  dawn  of  eternity 
shall  throw  light  upon  your  path.  God  help  you,  sisters, 
one  and  all,  and  bring  you  out  of  the  spiritual  bondage, in 
which  you  are  held. 

And  you,  happier  women,  — you  to  whom  life  has  given 
of  its  best,  and  has  crowned  royally,  —  can  you  not  help 
me?  The  cry  of  my  suffering  and  sorrowing  sisters  sweeps 
over  the  broad  prairies,  and  asks  you,  as  1  ask  you  now, 
"Can  you  do  nothing  for  us?"  Women's  pens,  and  wo- 
men's voices  pleaded  earnestly  and  pathetically  for  the  abo- 
lition of  slavery.  Thousands  of  women,  some  of  them  your 
country-women,  and  your  social  and  intellectual  equals,  are 
held  in  a  more  revolting  slavery  to-day.  Something  must 
be  done  for  them.  This  system  that  blights  every  woman's 
life  who  enters  it,  ought  not  to  remain  a  curse  and  a  stain 


CLOSING    PLEAS.  605 

upon  this  nation  any  longer.  It  should  be  blotted  out  so 
completely  that  even  its  foul  memory  would  die. 

Yet,  how  is  it  to  be  done?  I  confess  myself  discouraged 
when  I  ask  that  question.  Legislation  will  do  no  good, 
unless  the  laws  can  be  enforced  after  they  are  once  made. 
But  if  laws  are  to  be  framed,  and  the  men  who  enforce  them 
are  to  be  removed  as  a  punishment  for  their  faithfulness, 
they  are  better  not  made. 

But  one  thing  is  certain.  If  one  voice,  or  one  pen,  can 
exert  any  influence,  the  pen  will  never  be  Laid  aside,  the 
voice  never  be  silenced.  I  have  given  myself  to  this  work, 
and  I  have  promised  before  God  never  to  withdraw  from  it. 
It  is  my  life-mission ;  and  I  have  faith  to  believe  that  my 
work  will  not  be  in  vain,  and  that  I  shall  live  to  see  the  foul 
curse  removed,  and  Utah  —  my  beloved  Utah  —  free  from 
the  unholy  rule  of  the  religious  tyrant,  —  Brigham  Young. 


THE    END. 


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